San Francisco, Patents, and Theft: Search Innovation?”
February 5, 2015
Short honk: I read “A Bizarre Statistical Fact about Patents in San Francisco.” Some statistics professors might wrinkle their brows at the apparent correlation. Nevertheless, here’s the quote I noted:
What I’m suggesting is that this giant spike in patent rates is reflecting the combination of innovation and theft. Consider that many patents are used by the wealthier classes as a way to bilk people out of money. There’s the obvious case where patent trolls buy up overbroad patents— often in software — and threaten people with lawsuits until they pay to license a dubious patent from the troll. But patents also allow big companies to block small businesses from innovating, by charging astronomical prices to license really basic ideas or software functions. Especially in Silicon Valley, patents are often a game played by wealthy businesses, to the detriment of small-time entrepreneurs and teams of inventors.
I wonder if there is an impact on search innovation?
Stephen E Arnold, February 5, 2015
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