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« Postcard from E.D. Tex | Main | "Patent Hawk" lawsuit was an inside job, says Microsoft »

November 25, 2008

Comments

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property

Every time I see someone filing huge numbers of patent lawsuits like this, it makes me wonder why independent reinvention isn't considered evidence of obviousness.

I guess they could claim that someone might have read their patent. But I can't imagine that many people ever read patents unless they're ridiculous enough to be joked about or they're already the focus of a lawsuit. Especially considering how the damages multiply if your infringement is willful. (At least, that's my excuse for not reading any of the patents linked here.)

Andrew Goldberg

IDBIIP, thanks for your comment.

I'm not sure if I know what you mean by independent "reinvention". But I do find it very interesting that even though independent invention is not a defense to patent infringement allegations, most of the public believes it is, and it comes up a lot in patent lawsuits. I'm exploring this more in an upcoming story.

wvhillbilly

It all boils down to one little word: GREED.

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