24 Apr
2003
24 Apr
'03
8:15 p.m.
On Thu, 24 Apr 2003, Brian Chase wrote:
In my experience, its primary use is as a shakedown device to extract
royalty payments. The idea is not to actually thwart competition, but
to threaten it enough that accused infringers, fearing an injunction,
capitulate and pay a royalty.
I'm very happy with the service eBay offers
to sellers and buyers;
it's a great business idea and they've executed it very well, IMHO,
but I've little sympathy for their situation. What goes
around comes
around.
That's mainly the problem with the patent system today. It's
used primarily as a tool to thwart competition, rather than
foster innovation.