rabid.audio

Documenting my work at the intersection of technology and music.

Patents

Published: 26 Oct 2011

Note

This is an old post or draft which was migrated from my old blog. It may have broken links, and it definitely has questionable opinions. Consume at your own risk.

Patents were designed to protect an independent engineer from having his invention stolen by a company who happens to be able to produce it better because they have more means. But when giant companies use it to engage in anti-competitive business practices against other giant companies, we can directly see how the system is flawed. Furthermore, you have companies who have a business model where their only "product" is a portfolio of patents, usually extremely vague, that they bought up from individuals and other companies, and use them to file suits for profit.
The system is further flawed on a fundamental level. What constitutes an "idea?" How broad or narrow does it have to be? Can you put a patent on an ancient design that happened to not be patented (like a trebuchet)? You can't place a patent on a scientific theory, as that is absurd. But in the field of engineering, the building blocks of your science are designs or methods for completing tasks. In the same way that mathematics or physics are built on previous contributor's theorems and models, engineering is built on previous engineer's designs. To tell someone that they cannot use your idea is in effect interrupting technological progress.
But how do you fix such a system? Removing it would allow Apple for example come along and steal your design and make billions using it in their next generation of iPhone. One solution, which is rapidly growing in popularity, is copyleft licenses. In the DIY electronics world, this is called "Open Hardware" (due to its similarities to the Free Software Movement). Simply put, you release your design under a copyleft license such as Creative Commons, which will retain your ownership and control of the idea without stifling technological progress. This still allows for a company with greater means than you can produce your idea for cheap and make "your" money, but if nothing else, you to at least get credit for your accomplishment, so your salary will improve (because you can use it to show the big tech company you work for how valuable and smart you are). I realize this solution, while satisfying for me and many other (actual) engineers, understandably still isn't completely satisfying to everyone. I admit I have no further solution, but I am open to suggestions.
Abolishing the patent system has still further problems. What happens to all the old patents? We could do something similar to the copyright to public domain shift for those, and not allow any new patents. Of course, companies would continue to fight with the old ones, and would feel "outgunned" because they wouldn't be able to make more.