As a patent attorney, one of the questions I get asked the most is “what do you think about software patents?” Often, it takes the following form: “software patents are a mess, right?” My short answer is, yes. It is a mess, and it can be scary, particularly to entrepreneurs and startup businesses. But knowing the risks and understanding the landscape can help you make an informed decision as you bring your business to market.
Tech startups face difficult challenges in the current patent climate. For one, the “cold war arms race” patent acquisition strategy of the tech giants has helped fuel an ever increasingly dense landscape of software patents. The volume of patents in the space, and the amount of overlap between various patented technologies, has made it nearly impossible to properly evaluate the risks of infringing another’s patent rights when bringing a new technology to market. The expense associated with evaluating the vast quantity of relevant information is overwhelming. Even if the costs were manageable, the delay in the publication of patent applications (typically 18 months from the date of filing) makes it literally impossible to discover everyone that may have rights related to your business.
These issues have led to a lot of discussion about the value of software patents, whether we should allow software-related inventions to be patented, and the consequences these patents are having on startups and entrepreneurs, as well as the costs they are creating for the tech giants. Recently I have found myself emailing stories I am reading and listening to online that describe these issues to my clients to help them better understand the patent climate. I have gathered some of them here in hopes of being a valuable resource to my clients and others interested in the subject. I will continue to update the list as I find relevant stories worth sharing.
NPR:
In Digital War, Patents are the Weapon of Choice
New York Times:
Patent Wars Among Tech Giants Can Stifle Competition
In the High Tech Patent Wars, an Inventor’s Lament
Another View of Patents from James Dyson
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin:
Software Patents Come with Risks and Rewards for Small Companies (story featuring Patrick Richards and Richards Patent Law client ChewySoft)
If you know of any stories I should include on this page, please send them to me via my contact form.