
"Do you have any ideas you consider patentable?" - amichail

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shsung
Patents are such tricky things. On one hand, they can be incredibly useful
tools, encouraging a certain level of design in hopes of reward. On the other,
they can be nothing more than an expensive minefield. Shake a patent around
and threaten litigation, because everyone at the end of the day will choose
settlement. Law is sometimes nothing more than very expensive bullying.

The whole process is designed to be something like a race. Publish a paper
about it or article and don't patent it on time? Tough luck! Your own damn
article prevents your patent since it's "prior work." What constitutes patent
infringement, anyway? Alexander Graham Bell wrote a patent at the time that
covered just about any form of communication through an electric wire. Would a
keyboard be infringing? A completed patent is still not sure proof of
"ownership" - every patent's fate is ultimately uncertain until you really
duke it out in court. They're also incredibly expensive things as well,
especially for someone with just a great idea and not enough cash - $10k+
minimum, since patent applications are such complicated things and the USPTO
sure likes to take its sweet time. Why not attempt trade secrets instead?

If you have a really amazing, great idea to patent, something that "improves
the sciences" like they're always harping about in patent law, then sure, go
for it. But I don't think they're always necessary. Improvement of a current
service alone is worth an attempt to compete, not just a brand spanking new
idea nobody ever thought of.

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xinroman
To be honest, our answer was pretty vague. We do believe that somewhere down
the road we may come up with some new tool or way of doing things that is
patentable (heck, if Amazon can do it with "1-click"...) and will pursue that
as it comes up.

In the larger picture, though, I don't think that this is going to make or
break anybody. I went to a workshop a few weeks ago that was hosted by the
Stern School of Business - they had a panel of VCs and one Angel Investor, a
startup business pitching to them, and an audience full of people able to ask
questions. What was interesting was that one of the first questions the VCs
asked after the pitch was "do you have any patents?" The answer was a pretty
straight-forward "no." BUT, when asked about it later by someone in the
audience, all of the VCs agreed that they didn't really care that the team
didn't have anything patented - that they'd rather see a startup spending
their time and energy on implementation than on developing a patent portfolio.
Really, they just asked the question because they HAVE to ask the question.

I think the larger question here is "why can't someone else do what you're
doing?" and the "do you have any patents?" question is the first logical step
in answering that. But it's not the end-all be-all. I'm pretty sure Amazon's
success really has very little to do with "1-click" and that this wan't even
patented until a couple of years ago. (I should check some sources on that...)

~~~
xinroman
Yep, I knew I should've looked that up before shooting my mouth off:
<http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/projects-99-00/software-
patents/amazon.html>

Regardless, I still stand by my point. I also believe that most software
patents are ludicrous, so maybe I'm not the person to listen to here.

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brlewis
I simply wrote, "I do not consider software patentable."

<http://www.philsalin.com/patents.html>

~~~
randallsquared
While I don't consider _anything_ patentable, I just put "No" on the
application.

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volida
I believe they refer to the ideas involving what comprehends your solution to
a problem (idea). It's obvious that the problem(idea) you are solving it self
cannot be patented, although I think you could just refer to just the
problem(idea) you are solving...

A patent (software patent) should never be presented as algorithm in the
patent application, but rather as a mechansism that automates a process and
has results that solve the problem. This is essential difference between
papers. And if you study software patents, you will see a ton of claims
reffering to the previous claims, in order to describe your mechanism, in
order someone could re-create your solution, thats why some companies decide
to go the trade-secret way...

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chandrab
Patents are intellectual property, when you are acquired they the buying
company looks for and pays for to justify the acquisition. Having strong IP is
an asset like any other, even if it doesn't prevent a competitor from entering
your space, it just make it harder.

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amichail
This is a hard question.

First of all, ideas are not patentable. And given the sorry state of patents
today, some rather obvious things might be.

Second, although I have published research papers, I do not have any patents.
I don't know what the typical patent is like nor how it would compare to the
technical contributions of a research paper.

Third, my service is currently an early prototype and it is hard to see what
sort of patents might be applicable at this early stage.

Any advice? What did you write for this question?

~~~
mgandhi
We identified our core features & strengths. Quick patent searches on these
let us know whether there is something out there identical or similar to what
we are doing at a macro scale. Keep in mind, patents are worded in lawyer-
speak so we can't say there is nothing out there until spending a lot more
time & resources (lawyer money).

It is fairly common to find that little things you do are patentable so
focusing on the big things will keep your task manageable.

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yaacovtp
My brother's friend is an exterminator and gave me an amazing mouse trap. You
don't need something patentable to make a successful business. Sure, smart and
creative people may be great inventors, but many times it's the copycats who
execute better or have a strategic advantage. I'd rather have half of Toyota
and a smaller market share than all of Ford and GM with their legacy problems.

~~~
far33d
"good artists copy, great artists steal" - pablo picasso

~~~
euccastro
And boy did the man walk the walk..

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zaidf
Hey why not lean on the optimistic side and answer yes and describe them. It
is not like this will make or break your application or your patent chances.
On the other hand it could lead to something good even if not a patent.

~~~
johnm
Actually, when you disclose the ideas does have an effect on patentability.
IANAL, consult with a professional, etc.

