Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20 years (2019)

Re:Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20... by cco on Wednesday June 01, 2022 @09:05PM (#31590122)

> I don't think patents were designed to create monopolies so much as they were created to incentive research.

I think a fair understanding of the history of patent law allows for both. However their increasing use as tools of monopolies is clearly the pattern we've seen over the last 40 or so years.

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Re:Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20... by wtallis on Thursday June 02, 2022 @12:54AM (#31591481)

The provision in the US Constitution that authorizes patents (and copyrights) states:

> The Congress shall have Power [...] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

Which is pretty clear that the end goal is incentivizing R&D that ultimately contributes to the public domain, with the temporary monopolies being merely a legislative tool to achieve that purpose.

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