[Patents] Economic assessment

[Edward Avis epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk]

On Fri, 24 Nov 2000, Gregory Aharonian wrote:

>>In the case of software, you have to decide whether the benefits from
>>worthwhile software patents outweigh the losses from bad software
>>patents.  It's a matter of opinion how many software patents are
>>economically useful ones, but I'm sure everyone on this list will
>>agree that such swpats as are worthwhile are heavily outweighed by
>>the mass of bad patents.
>
>Which may or may not be true for not only software patents, but all
>other areas of technology.  Talk to biotechnology researchers - they
>have even bigger complaints than software developers over the large
>number of questionable biotech patents that require researchers to get
>licenses to do their research, a far more onerous and freedom-restricting
>problem than anything software developers are complaining about.

In which case, you have to ask whether patents on biotech are
worthwhile, and you might come to the conclusion 'no'.  But that is a
separate topic, we're discussing patents on software.

>I would guess in most field, the bad patents far outweigh the good patents,
>and one can question whether society as a whole gains a net benefit.

So in fact it is *you* who is questioning the patent system in general,
something you've been so keen to accuse others of.

Surely you agree that if society didn't get a net benefit
(hypothetically speaking) from government intervention such as the
patent system, then it wouldn't be worth having that system?  Or are you
saying that patents are good in themselves, regardless of economic and
social impact?

>Which makes this line of attack on software patents solely, unjust.

Maybe.  But I think the problem is *particularly* bad with software -
there may be concerns raised over the patent system in other areas, but
software is a clear-cut case where patents are really inappropriate.

>Economic impact is a valid criticism of the software patenting system.
>But like many other aspects of software patents vis-a-vis other areas
>of technology, the criticism must be applied to these other areas as
>well.

We're not trying to change the world, just trying to ensure sanity in
one particular area.

>It would be of more benenfit
>to more people to harass the energies against software patents against
>all problems areas of patenting.

Perhaps - but not now.  Right now the problem is in one specific area.
If that gets fixed then the debate can continue in other areas, but
since my expertise is solely in computer programs I will leave those
discussions to others.

-- 
Ed Avis
epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk