Paul Graham: how to cope with patent shackles without a state

Recently, I realized that it is possible to partially solve the problem of patents without the help of the state.



I have never been 100 percent sure: do patents help technological progress or hinder it? As a child, I thought they were helping. I thought patents protect an inventor from big companies that can steal his idea. And maybe this was true in the past, when most things had physical properties. Despite the fact that patents are generally a good thing, some are used for bad purposes. And since with such use you meet more and more often, the need for patent reform is growing.
')
The problem with patents is because the problem is that the government has to be involved in the process. So it will be slow. However, recently I realized that we can approach this problem in the following way: in some cases, it’s realistic to find out how the patent is used by tracking the place where it was issued.

One of the ways to use a patent is clearly not to support innovation - it takes place when corporations producing bad goods, having a patent, crowd out small companies with high-quality products. With this we can cope without the help of the state.

To find companies that are above such tricks, it is necessary to demand from them public promises not to do this. Then, those who fail to make a promise will immediately appear suspicious. Potential workers will not want to be hired there. Investors will be able to see that the company is afloat thanks to lawsuits, and not good goods.

Here is the promise:

Do not be the first to apply a patent for a software company that employs less than 25 people. (No first use of software patents against companies with less than 25 people.)

Translation: Liza Lamova

Publication support is the Edison company, which develops CAD systems for electrical power systems , as well as assists the research institute with the implementation of a software module containing a mathematical neural network algorithm for image recognition .

I deliberately gave an exact statement for the sake of brevity. This promise is null and void. It’s like Google’s Do Not Be Evil slogan. The company does not define what is evil in their understanding, but stated that they want to meet a standard that Alstria does not adhere to (an American company, one of the leaders in the world market for tobacco products). Despite the restraining side of this slogan, he has brought Google a favor. Technological companies benefit by attracting the most efficient people, and these people are interested in employers who seek to raise the standard of quality rather than reduce requirements.

The promise associated with the patent produces a smaller effect, but is connected with the understandable principle - “Do not be evil”. I support every company that takes this principle as a basis. If you want help solving a patent problem, support your employer.

Most technology companies will no longer fall to the use of patents for startups. You will not see how Google or Facebook sue startups for patent infringement. They don't need it. Fortunately for technology companies, a patent promise does not require a change in behavior. They simply declare to do what they are obliged to do. And when all companies that do not use patents for startups give this promise, those who disagree (who did not give it) will be evident.

This kind of promise will not exhaust the problem of patents. It will not stop those who do not respect the patent, for example; they are already untouchable. But this will help correct what is more important than patent trolls - they are just parasites. A non-folding parasite can sometimes kill the host, but this is not its purpose. Companies initiating court cases due to patent infringement by a startup want to achieve one thing: so that the product of this startup does not enter the market.

Companies demanding patent compliance with startups are ruining innovation. Here everyone can do something without waiting for the government: ask the company to which camp they belong.