[ExI] i'll bee seeing you... was: RE: old software fun

[Adrian Tymes]

On Tue, Jun 2, 2015 at 7:32 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> Cool, now a downer: if we post these ideas in this forum, are we defeating
> ourselves?  I assume they can’t be patented once they are in the public
> domain, so then people who would create something like this for profit
> won’t bother?  Do we have intellectual property hipsters here?  IP Brians,
> do you know?  Anyone else?
>

Contrary to what it is currently in vogue for software VCs to believe, an
idea does not have to be patented to make revenue-generating software on
it.  Frankly, the old line about "1% inspiration 99% perspiration" applies
for any significantly complex commercial software.  Revenue is realized
after hard work is put in to make a good app, because customers care about
whether your app fills their need best, not about its patents (except in
cases so rare they can be ignored).

Further, for a (niche and benefits-strongly-from-common-data-standards)
market such as this, once someone is serving it well, there is little to be
gained by making a competing app.  Patents are useful for making it
uneconomical for others to compete with you (because you'll sue them - so,
"patents with capable lawyers behind them" is more accurate), but here that
seems to already be the case.
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