Update: See Are anti-IP patent attorneys hypocrites?, collecting various posts about this topic.
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Recently had an email discussion with an inventor. He wanted to know why abolishing the patent system would be “in his interest”. Edited comments:
I don’t think it’s relevant whether it’s in “your interest,” to be honest. If I were a beneficiary of a million dollars a year of government welfare, I would have “an interest” in not having the welfare program abolished. So what? Does my interest mean it should not be abolished?
In my view, the threat posed by patents to honest businessmen is atrocious. It is pure government socialism in that it takes away property rights from people and awards them to others, as in the NTP-RIM litigation.
Of course, most patent lawyers are in favor of the patent system, and repeat the tired old mantras that it’s “necessary” to “stimulate” innovation, blah blah blah. Wow, big surprise. As I showed in There’s No Such Thing As A Free Patent, none of them know what the hell they are jabbering about. They are disingenous advocates for a system that helps perpetuate their livelihood. IMHO.
You may find of interest these blog posts:
- Miracle–An Honest Patent Attorney!–he admits the patent system is a waste and drag on the economy
- Patent Trolls and Empirical Thinking
- Patent and Penicillin–a standard “patent success” story debunked
- “A Patent Success Story”–patent attorney retracts “success” example
- On Patenting Music and Patent Hypocrisy–exchange with Greg Aharonian about hypocrisy of those who implicitly claim the patent system is worth it but who refuse to engage on the issue
- Update: Related posts: The Most Libertarian Patent Work; Advice for Prospective Libertarian Law Students; Are anti-IP patent attorneys hypocrites?; An Anti-Patent Patent Attorney? Oh my Gawd!; The Morality of Acquiring and Enforcing Patents
Other miscellaneous posts on IP:
- Patents v. Blackberry and Palm … Enter: Google (November 7, 2006)
- Mor IP law “abuse”: NFL Player Sends Mom Cease and Desist Letter for Using His Likeness (November 3, 2006)
- Britain’s copyright laws, based on a 300-year-old statute, desperately need reshaping for the digital age (November 2, 2006)
- Some intimate details on the Google YouTube Deal (October 31, 2006)
- The “tolerated use” of copyrighted works (October 27, 2006)
- Richard Epstein on “The Structural Unity of Real and Intellectual Property” (October 4, 2006)
- Copyrights in Fashion Designs? (September 27, 2006)
- IP Imperialism (Russia, Intellectual Property , and the WTO) (September 22, 2006)
- Software Patents are not that harmful! (September 20, 2006)
- Patents and Utilitarian Thinking Redux: Stiglitz on using Prizes to Stimulate Innovation (September 19, 2006)
- Microsoft, Open Source Patents, and Incentives (September 15, 2006)
- Apple Pays Creative $100 Million To Settle Patent Suit (August 24, 2006)
- Patent Hypocrisy (August 2, 2006)
- Patent Rights Web Poll (July 31, 2006)
- Russian Free Trade and Patents (July 15, 2006)
- The Growing Anti-IP Movement (July 13, 2006)
- Intellectual Property: The New Backlash (July 11, 2006)
- Woops, sorry, Blackberry! (June 22, 2006)
- Battling the Copyright Monster (June 19, 2006)
- Heroic Pirates (June 12, 2006)
- Drug Patents and Welfare (May 31, 2006)
- Thoughts on Intellectual Property, Scarcity, Labor-ownership, Metaphors, and Lockean Homesteading (May 26, 2006)
- Objectivists on IP (May 3, 2006)
- Hope you don’t like your DVR (April 14, 2006)
- Watch out, Gwyneth (Apple v. Apple) (March 29, 2006)
- Elaborations on Randian IP (January 5, 2006)
- The Quagmire of Intellectual Property (December 28, 2005)
- For Blackberry Users out there … (December 1, 2005)
- Patents and Innovation (November 9, 2005)
- IP vs. Antitrust (September 8, 2005)
- Patents and Blood Cells (July 14, 2005)
- Copyright and Birthday Cakes (June 16, 2005)
- Heroic Google Fighting Copyright Morass (June 2, 2005)
- Copyright Gone Mad (April 14, 2005)
- Patents and Peanut Butter Sammiches (April 8, 2005)
- Big Blue Discovers New Way To Leverage Patents (April 8, 2005)
- There is No Such Thing As A Free Patent (March 6, 2005)
- Condemning Patents (February 27, 2005)
- Patents and Utilitarian Thinking (February 25, 2005)
- Copyright and Video Games (February 25, 2005)
- Improving Copyright Law: Baby Steps (February 24, 2005)
- Cato, Lessig, and Intellectual Property (January 31, 2005)
- Amazon and Poetic Justice (November 8, 2004)
- Copyright and Freedom of Speech (November 8, 2004)
- Intellectual Property at Mises.org (March 29, 2004)
