On: The Direct Costs from NPE (Patent Troll) Disputes

[reitzensteinm]

If wealth creation happens at any step, it's when an invention that is beneficial to society is created, and the patent system exists to account for that.

If the invention is junk (like the Lodsys patents), it doesn't matter how wealth has been transferred around; no value has been created. Any rent sought on those patents is an economic distortion and (in my opinion) immoral.

I didn't even start this off to take a side (though I guess I have by now) - I was just pointing out a fallacy in GP's thinking.

[colinshark → reitzensteinm]

Trademarks require proof of use in commerce to be valid.

Perhaps patents should require proof of use- If not by the inventor, then by the patent owner within a probation period of 3 years or so.