[ExI] Problem with Pattents

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 12:26 AM,  <ABlainey at aol.com> wrote:
> I have been thinking recently about patents and whether they are
> fundamentally wrong. As an inventor I have no problem with people getting
> credit where credit is due. , likewise no problem with monetary gain from
> one's endeavours however I get a biting feeling that patents are purely
> selfish and uncivilised.
>  My reasoning is that many super rich people and companies got that way from
> patent license fees.

### Jeez, somebody is getting rich! This must be stopped forthwith!

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In many cases the 'invention' was done by some hard
> working minion of the company who probably didn't get much more than their
> basic salary for the accomplishment.

### So why did he sign away his rights (because by law the inventor
owns the patent unless he relinquishes his rights in the application)?
Maybe because the company provided $ 50,000,000 worth of
infrastructure and supplies to make his invention real?

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>  I know that as an inventor, I have sat on quite a few inventions, simply
> because I didn't have the cash for patents. In several cases this has led to
> someone else beating me to the market.

### Wait, if patenting was cheaper, would you avail yourself of this
avenue? Is the 60,000$ the only reason stopping you from being
"uncivilised" and purely selfish?
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>  It has made me wonder what would happen if the patent system were scrapped.
>  As I see it, the immediate effect would be a whole bunch of very cheap
> pharmaceuticals hitting the market.

### The first effect would be me quitting my job (trying to invent a
drug for mitochondrial disease). The intermediate effect would be lots
of cheap stuff being made. The long term effect would be absolutely
nothing more than cheap old stuff forever. For expensive, new and
better stuff you would have to move to another country.

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 I also think this is the only way to
> create a truly competitive market place, where only the best quality
> products (or versions of) for a reasonable price would survive.

### Yes, make it impossible to earn a return on creative work! This
would really make for the best quality products!

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>  I can imagine it somewhat levelling the income levels of many people as
> there would be many more companies in the world, with much flatter
> structures. Not only that, but you would also be more likely to get paid
> according to how much/how well you work, rather than how well you can
> exploit others.

### Lovely!

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>  New inventions are just progressions of existing technology, so given the
> wheel it was inevitable that someone would build a cart. So why are we
> paying the cart builders?

### Yeah, sure, nobody needs to sweat and labor on an invention, it
all comes easily, inevitably even, no need to pay extra.

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>  It would be nice to live in a world where invention was done for its own
> worth rather than the dreams of piles of cash.

### Let me think, what would I invent if I didn't want to make money
on mitochondrial disease treatment: A giant titanium whirligig? Really
tiny mechanical gizmo for milking mealybugs, so I could find out if
their sweet secretions taste well? I am sure I would have a lot of fun
but, unfortunately, there are bills to be paid, so it's back to my
test tubes.
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Wouldn't that kind of world
> be better at inventing more useful and effective things rather than the same
> old crap in a different package?

### By making sure the inventor doesn't get paid, you would no doubt
make his inventions much more useful, inventive, and fun.

Sorry, I just couldn't stop myself from being sarcastic.....but at
least I am not getting paid for it.

Rafal