[Cdn-DMCA] JPEG Extinct? Send as input to Innovation Strategy!!

[Kristofer Coward]

On Mon, Jul 29, 2002 at 09:07:24PM -0400, Russell McOrmond wrote:
> 
> 
> On Mon, 29 Jul 2002, Chris Brand wrote:
> 
> > >> 5. What is the effect on innovation where there are multiple overlapping
> > >> patents?
> > >
> > >  Innovation stops.
> > 
> > I disagree. Because the patents reveal the inventions, innovation can
> > continue, developing new ideas based on those that have been revealed.
> 
>   Like quite a bit of discussion around "Intellectual Property", this 
> ignores the considerable costs of the input-side of innovation.
> 
> 
>   The expensive large-scale development that patent (especially our very
> broken current system) doesn't favor innovation.  The system favors the
> development of the most risky and most expensive ideas, rather than
> favoring much less risky (to the developer/company and society)  
> incremental (less costly, less margins, etc) innovation.

You have to remember that not all markets have low barriers to entry
(outside of 'IP'). An especially important example would be the market
for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. In the interest of protecting
public safety, regulatory obstacles are introduced that make the
process of bringing a medical innovation to market costly enough to
justify patent protection while those costs are recovered.

That said, there are definitely areas in which patents _are_ doing more
harm than good.

-- 
Kristofer Coward				http://unripe.melon.org/
GPG Fingerprint: 2BF3 957D 310A FEEC 4733  830E 21A4 05C7 1FEB 12B3
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