Re:Nathan Myhrvold’s Patent Extortion Fund Is Reaping Hundre...
by mattmaroon on Wednesday September 17, 2008 @06:56PM
(#307656)
Well thought-out. I agree almost entirely.
Our current patent system clearly needs much improvement, but almost certainly encourages progress far beyond none at all.
I don't see prizes as being too effective. The nice thing about the market is it decides what problems are worth solving. Prizes put that decision in the hands of whoever organizes them.
There would clearly be prizes for fighting cancer, aids, lack of potable water, etc. I'm not sure there ever would have been a prize for a pot with a tight fitting lid and holes in it, but the Pasta Pot, simple as it is, is a miracle. Same with wheels on luggage, the SpinBrush, etc.
But our current patent system has a solid prize that encourages innovation from products as small as those all the way up to nanotech.
Our current patent system clearly needs much improvement, but almost certainly encourages progress far beyond none at all.
I don't see prizes as being too effective. The nice thing about the market is it decides what problems are worth solving. Prizes put that decision in the hands of whoever organizes them.
There would clearly be prizes for fighting cancer, aids, lack of potable water, etc. I'm not sure there ever would have been a prize for a pot with a tight fitting lid and holes in it, but the Pasta Pot, simple as it is, is a miracle. Same with wheels on luggage, the SpinBrush, etc.
But our current patent system has a solid prize that encourages innovation from products as small as those all the way up to nanotech.