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April 14, 2006

Abolish Software Patents? Not So Simple

Rob Hof

VC Brad Feld thinks software patents should be abolished because they stunt innovation:

If we continue on the path we are on, patents will continue to increase in their overall expense to the system, everyone will feel compelled to continue to apply for as many (and as broad) patents as possible, if only for defensive reasons (one of Fred’s VC Cliche’s of the Week was “Patents are like nuclear bombs, you just got to have some.”) Let’s take a page from geopolitical warfare and focus on global disarmament, rather than mutually assured destruction.

Indeed, Fred Wilson agrees, but the intelligent comments on his post

indicate how complicated the issue is.

12:37 AM

Innovation, copyright, patents, software

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