[Patents] A bug in the law

[Gregory Aharonian srctran@world.std.com]

>Look at what you are saying.  That the law does not need to be
>changed, because people are breaking it and getting away with it.

I didn't say anything such thing, and I resent you trying to put 
those words in my mouth.  And in fact, I used to develop aerospace
software.

Every patent owner has to examine the costs and benefits of
asserting a patent.  That is well known, there are books about
how to do so.  Given the great expense of patent litigation,
no one is going to assert their patent where the expectation
of receiving awards is similar to or greater than the costs of
asserting the patent.

All patent owners realize that their patents are going to be
infringed.  But it is cost ineffective to go after individuals
infringing your patent because a) they don't cause much harm,
and b) you won't receive much income.

That's why Hartmut's and others are exaggerating the effects of
bad (software) patents on individual programmers.  In fact, I am
one of the few if any programmers to be so sued for patent
infringement, all for reasons that have nothing to do with software
or infringement.  It just is not worth going after individuals, and
none of you really have that much to worry about.

On the other hand, if you have a substantial business and are
infringing someone's patent, then the patent owner will see a
greater chance of receiving money for your infringement.

So it is neither a case of breaking a law, or encouraging people
to break the law, when I say that individuals have little to fear
from patent holders.  It is just the typical economic calculation
for patent litigation in the case of a small player.

Now I must admit if I had my own bad software patent, I might
consider suing Hartmut just to justify his paranoia, but that
would be more for fun than any expectation of money.

Greg Aharonian