Technology Wars: Is a Failed Patent System Slowing Innovation?
By emeadows
October 9, 2012
October 9, 2012
- Prior to the release of Siri, Michael Phillips had been writing software that allows computers to understand human speech. In 2006, he co-founded a voice recognition company named Vlingo, “and eventually executives at Apple, Google and elsewhere proposed partnerships. Mr. Phillips’s technology was even integrated into Siri itself before the digital assistant was absorbed into the iPhone,” reports The New York Times.
- In 2008, Phillips was contacted by another, larger voice recognition company. That company’s chief executive told him, “I have patents that can prevent you from practicing in this market,” according to reports.
- He was then told he had two choices: sell his firm or be sued for patent infringement. He didn’t sell and was hit with six lawsuits.
- “Mr. Phillips and Vlingo are among the thousands of executives and companies caught in a software patent system that federal judges, economists, policy makers and technology executives say is so flawed that it often stymies innovation,” notes the article.
- According to analysis from Stanford University, as much as $20 billion was spent on patent litigation and patent purchases in just the past two years — “an amount equal to eight Mars rover missions.” Apple and Google reportedly spent more on patent lawsuits and big-dollar patent purchases last year than on research and development.
- “Many people argue that the nation’s patent rules, intended for a mechanical world, are inadequate in today’s digital marketplace,” explains the article. “Unlike patents for new drug formulas, patents on software often effectively grant ownership of concepts, rather than tangible creations.”
- The patent office regularly approves patents for vague algorithms or business methods without demanding specifics. The result involves patents so broad that patent holders have the opportunity to claim ownership of potentially unrelated products.
- “Often, companies are sued for violating patents they never knew existed or never dreamed might apply to their creations, at a cost shouldered by consumers in the form of higher prices and fewer choices,” suggests the article.
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