The Patent System is Broken

Patent law in the United States (and, to varying degrees in other countries) was originally intended to protect an inventor against those who would profit unfairly from his/her invention. We often think of this as being intended to protect inventors of modest means, but it can serve to protect large institutions, as well; the law does not distinguish the wealth or power of the inventor or his/her adversaries.

However, in recent years, we have seen that it can be very difficult for any other than very powerful institutions to enjoy the protection offered by the patent system. It is often possible to circumvent the intent of any patent. And the legal costs of defending a patent, or of defending against an infringement claim, are so large as to be affordable only by large companies.

Furthermore, large companies now use patents as weapons and business currency. For example, it is possible to put a competitor out of business by launching an infringement suit. If the competitor is small enough, it will be sufficient just to drown them in legal fees, regardless of whether the suit has any merit.

Another difficulty in recent years has been the utter inability of the Patent Office to ensure that patent applications are actually valid, enforceable patents. Technology has expanded so rapidly in recent years, and patent examiners are paid so little in comparison with salaries for equivalent expertise in industry, that is is not possible for the Patent Office to diligently examine every application. The result is that that many patents are issued whose validity remains unknown unless and until they are fought over in court. This is certainly a very inefficient way of determining patent validity, and the costs to all involved are unimaginable. Again, only wealthy institutions can afford to win in such a system.

So we have arrived at a place where patents do not offer much protection, where they are used as weapons, and where the only winners are those who can out-muscle their opponents.

For these reasons, Tetragon has sadly come to understand that the ideas presented on this web site will never be protectable by patents. It is therefore more productive for all concerned that they be publicly disclosed in this manner, so that any who wish may profit from them, and in so doing, deliver some benefit to society. At the same time, so published, these ideas will not be available for use as weapons.

Let the better business competitors win on the merits of their efforts, and not on the prowess of their legal staffs. And let the legal staffs devote their substantial talents to fighting unfair competitors.