I think trade secrets in business have been around since the beginning of business. You don't have the protection of a patent, but then again if no one knows about it then they can't figure out a work around that you could from analyzing a patent... It seems however that Europe is very interested in "opening" up the market by having two companies share what traditionally has been seen as trade secrets.
When companies went from protecting their inventions to hoarding litigation tools, I decided that the patent system is currently a "bad thing." But I do think trade secrets still have their place as this is still a method to protect your ideas and inventions and there is no way to hoard this as a litigation tool. What the EU is forcing be done, is that now MS and Apple will have to patent their technology so that they can share and license this technology.
So I say, Apple and Microsoft, pull out of Europe. Open up your other markets. When Europe wants you back, come back graciously. This allows them to start their own industry in this area and gives opportunity to their businesses.
3 comments:
andy sez:
This is a very interesting topic to me given that I happen to be reading it from an acedemic conference where there has been quite a bit of off-line discussion regarding patents and acedemics. Patents represent quite the lucrative opportunity for universities, but the problem with them in acedemia is the opposite of that in industry in the fact that patents delay disclosure and publication. Often key concepts are NEVER published which really throws a wrench into the acedemic process.
If (and that is a big if) I thought that patents worked, then this would be more along the lines of the patent clearing house. I don't think anyone expects Universities should produce products, but are a great source of research and brainiacs.
But luckily I am against these patents right now. I might be able to blame Roddenberry for putting this vision of a perfect socialist society where the free transit of information only adds to the bettering of society and humankind.
But either way, it definitely looks like the patent system is broken. And are you saying most of my topics aren't interesting?
"And are you saying most of my topics aren't interesting"
andy sez:
You're like a woman, always twisting words to mean unintended things.
I must be too much in conference mode where most comments at the end of presentations that are disguised as "questions" generally follow the form:
"Very interesting talk."
"Thank you"
"My question about this porceedure is: Are you aware that your proposed idea is total crap and will never work in the real world"
"Clearly, some more study is required to account for reality, but the results look very promising so far."
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