inquinity

A week ago Thursday, I spoke about software patents and intellectual property to the Twin Cities CocoaHeads developer group.  This was my first significant presentation on the topic and  I was concerned about how it would be received: developers have a very low opinion of patent law, even worse now in light of recent events [...]

This afternoon, President Obama address some remarks to the nation. For more complete coverage, the original article can be found at: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/08/watch-live-obamas-latest-debt-ceiling-address/40711/ One gem which was pointed out by Article One Partners (thanks) was: Through patent reform, we can cut the red tape that stops too many inventors and entrepreneurs from quickly turning new ideas into [...]

I read an article earlier today, “By Definition, A Defensive Patent is a Bad Patent”, http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110729/03340615311/definition-defensive-patent-is-bad-patent.shtml. To be clear, I am a software entrepreneur; I believe in innovation, in collaboration, in sharing knowledge.  I like to think I come from the same philosophical mold as the original MIT hackers (in the original sense of the word) [...]

Timothy Lee’s “Disruptive economics” blog on Forbes has a post, “The Supreme Court should invalidate Software Patents”, http://blogs.forbes.com/timothylee/2011/07/28/the-supreme-court-should-invalidate-software-patents/  It’s a good post and I recommend reading it.  I agree with Tim’s reasoning and logic but I ultimately disagree with his conclusion.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/07/patent-trolls-drive-app-developers-u-s-market, Julie Sameuls, EFF Julie Samuels of the EFF reports on a significant problem: developers choosing not to sell apps because of fear of law suits.  “…Lately we’ve seen a disturbing new trend: patent trolls targeting app developers. … It should come as no surprise then to hear reports that developers are pulling their apps from the U.S. [...]