tom hanlon
EF2
This is mostly an attempt by patent squatters to get ahead of any other similar use.
He is just taking advantage of our current lax standards for granting patents. I digress to a discussion of software patents, but this is Bill Gates.. so it seems appropriate.
In my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of software developers the patent system has been broken for a few decades, largely by the allowance for business method patents and software patents. With the flood of patent requests, sort of like a land rush, the US Patent and Trademark Office has gone into "rubber stamp mode", they approve most patents because they have little time to do a thorough review. They figure that the courts will ultimately sort out the validity of the patents.
It may seem like a reasonable idea, but it has been disastrous. The big software companies have to horde patents as a war chest in case they get sued. So they collect ridiculous patents, along with patents that most would consider reflection of valid innovation. The cost of patent lawsuits and the discovery involved is huge, so it becomes a game that only the big companies can afford to play.
Things may be changing however, see the appeal of Bilski vs ??, http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20081102011538422
From there follow the discussion on the Bilski decision. I know this is mostly software patents, but the point is that Bill Gates understands quite a bit about the current patent situation and the potential for profit, or perhaps he is seeking real innovation, I did not read the patent. The company's name however points towards patent miners, intellectual ventures.
I think Microsoft goes back to the day when trademark was used to protect intellectual property such as software, and then the patent floodgates where opened, and his company learned to survive in that new world. Microsoft is currently involved in some behind the scenes shenanigans involving threatened suit of linux for patent infringement and forcing some cross licensing arrangements or something devious along those lines. So Bill Gates certainly understands the value of both valid and less than valid patents.
So when somebody somewhere seeks to do something similar to what this patent describes, such as pump sea water, Bill's lawyers can ask for a cut of the deal.
Verizon and Skype, had a patent adventure and settlement, as did Blackberry (Research in Motion) and Microsoft was most likely behind the scenes of the Linux, SCO vs IBM suit.
Big money to be made collecting patents as long as you have the backing to face a prolonged and expensive court battle. Probably the sort of game that Bill G loves.
--
Tom
He is just taking advantage of our current lax standards for granting patents. I digress to a discussion of software patents, but this is Bill Gates.. so it seems appropriate.
In my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of software developers the patent system has been broken for a few decades, largely by the allowance for business method patents and software patents. With the flood of patent requests, sort of like a land rush, the US Patent and Trademark Office has gone into "rubber stamp mode", they approve most patents because they have little time to do a thorough review. They figure that the courts will ultimately sort out the validity of the patents.
It may seem like a reasonable idea, but it has been disastrous. The big software companies have to horde patents as a war chest in case they get sued. So they collect ridiculous patents, along with patents that most would consider reflection of valid innovation. The cost of patent lawsuits and the discovery involved is huge, so it becomes a game that only the big companies can afford to play.
Things may be changing however, see the appeal of Bilski vs ??, http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20081102011538422
From there follow the discussion on the Bilski decision. I know this is mostly software patents, but the point is that Bill Gates understands quite a bit about the current patent situation and the potential for profit, or perhaps he is seeking real innovation, I did not read the patent. The company's name however points towards patent miners, intellectual ventures.
I think Microsoft goes back to the day when trademark was used to protect intellectual property such as software, and then the patent floodgates where opened, and his company learned to survive in that new world. Microsoft is currently involved in some behind the scenes shenanigans involving threatened suit of linux for patent infringement and forcing some cross licensing arrangements or something devious along those lines. So Bill Gates certainly understands the value of both valid and less than valid patents.
So when somebody somewhere seeks to do something similar to what this patent describes, such as pump sea water, Bill's lawyers can ask for a cut of the deal.
Verizon and Skype, had a patent adventure and settlement, as did Blackberry (Research in Motion) and Microsoft was most likely behind the scenes of the Linux, SCO vs IBM suit.
Big money to be made collecting patents as long as you have the backing to face a prolonged and expensive court battle. Probably the sort of game that Bill G loves.
--
Tom
