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You can't find an investor until you have the patent | 172 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Excellent Point!
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, April 25 2013 @ 03:28 PM EDT

I hadn't considered that potential.

Part of the argument from the pro-patent perspective is that patents are granted to stimulate the arts in order to provide incentive for the inventor to invest in their invention in the first place.

Yet you make a very valid point that the reality is likely the opposite:

    the inventor spends the time and money
then
    the investor comes along when the inventor is collapsing and purchases it at a song
Everyone else is taking the risks and the predatory investor is coming along when the risk-takers are up against the ropes and paying - quite likely - pennies on the dollar.

Now there's a potential way to fix the patent system. Have a requirement that:

    If the original inventor wants to sell the invention - the inventor must keep a detailed record of all the costs associated with the invention. Anyone that wants to buy must pay at least that much for the patent.
    If the original inventor can not find such a buyer, the inventor must retain the patent or release it to the public domain.
    To transfer a patent otherwise automatically invalidates the patent - thereby pushing the invention into the public domain.
That would make it illegal to build a business on simply acquiring patents strictly for licensing purposes.

RAS

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

You can't find an investor until you have the patent
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, April 25 2013 @ 03:39 PM EDT
'lest your invention be stolen or considered disclosed to the public by the
Patent Office, thereby preventing patenting.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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