Hi all!
I actually do not have too much background knowledge about the mobile patent
wars, but I am excited to learn more about them! I think what makes them so
interesting is that we are so familiar with the technology, since everyone owns
a cellphone.
Patents
are useful because they give the inventor recognition for discovering something
that has never been discovered before. Thus, they should be used as a tool to
help move invention forward by motivating people to work faster so that they
can apply for the patent first.
However, from the conversation in class and the articles I
have been reading, the mobile patent wars are actually hurting innovation.
Professor Lavian mentioned in class that Apple and Samsung are involved in 22
different lawsuits in different courts. To stall the process and to prevent
other companies from implementing new inventions in their products, companies
will hire lawyers to sue on literally anything. I read this one article, which
was published in October of 2012 (link: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/mobile-patent-wars-hurting-innovation-experts-say-205074). A technology lawyer, Marvin Ammori, reached out to
Congress to stop patents for software and business methods.
This reminds me of a certain scenario that I encountered on
a popular T.V. show called Shark Tank. On the show, entrepreneurs are given the
opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors. One entrepreneur was
pitching a product, and he mentioned that he had a patent on holes/ tubes in
clothing where you can insert wires and other gadgets (such as from earphones/
mp3 players, etc). [It may be similar to this one: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20130019377]
I believe he mentioned that he had a
patent on this broad category, and one of the investors exclaimed that because
there are so many patents on very simple ideas, it is difficult for other
entrepreneurs to make sufficient progress.
I also
read about the America Invents Act, a patent reform bill that was passed in
September of 2011. This act basically switched the system from a "first to
invent" to "first to file". I look forward to learning more
about how this law affected other patents on mobile devices.
I stumbled upon this page which breaks down the implications of the 2011 Leahy Smith act (mentioned in your first article). There are some interesting modifications which alter the way I've conceived of patents based on a cultural perspective.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leahy-Smith_America_Invents_Act
One interesting change was that a company or organizing entity may file a claim for their employee or member without their direct consent. The ownership goes directly to the inventor regardless of who files, which seems like a purely positive update to the system.
Manali, it was refreshing to read your post because it was being written by someone who is just beginning to learn about smartphone patents. Hence, your writing made a lot of sense to me. Your analysis was that "mobile patent wars are actually hurting innovation," and I completely agree. Isn't the whole point of filing a patent to help create a new idea and uniquely contribute to the betterment of society?
ReplyDeleteManali, I love your reference to Shark Tank. However, I do agree that the way companies are playing the patent game now does seem crazy to some people. It is difficult to determine what is the right amount of law suits by these companies. For smaller companies, it may be difficult to hold back on the lawsuits especially if there is high gain. However, it does seem more likely for the larger companies to pursue this strategy. Your argument does point out whether people want the large tech companies to engulf the smartphone space and swat out small competitors.
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