One Rule For The Rich?

mccaffer writes: "Here's a story about how the patent laws fail to protect the small guy. It's pretty obvious the legal system exists only to protect the interests of the powerful." Hmmm. I haven't heard anything about this, but Charles Arthur, the journalist, is usually reliable... Anyone else know anything about this story?

Money Talks

[Detritus]

One of my relatives is an inventor who has patents. He told me that big companies routinely rip off patented inventions. If you don't have several million dollars in spare cash for lawyers, they can get away with it.

Sounds like Allvoice is getting screwed, BUT

[jjsaul]

Hate to burst the bubbles out there, but try to remember that, unlike the abusive patent system we have evolved in the last few years, the concept helps the small guy market his ideas without getting crushed by the superior resources of the big guy.

Simple logic - Inventors have idea, Mega-Smarmy has cash. If I get patent protection, then at least in theory they have a window in which to develop a business shielded from the crushing overfunded predatory practices of MS.

Without patent protection, MS uses its cash to market everyone else's ideas without limit, and I gets nada.

Its money that talks

[tagishsimon]

This problem seems to be exactly that which is bedevilling UK ISP's at the moment; the cost of defending {a patent|the right to fair comment} and the time involved oft times works against natural justice.

A patent is of no use whatsoever unless you can defend it in court (i.e. prove that someone else has infringed the patent). So take one small underfunded inventor, one huge profitable corporation, and one invention which has the capacity to make huge profit, and what do you think you get? Steamrollered if you're the little guy; more profit if you're the big guy.

Of course there are exceptions. But only a fool thinks that having right on their side leads to justice in the courts.

In closing, the patent law, like the UK libel law, does in fact protect the {inventor|fair-commenter} but only if they can afford to access the protection.

Re:No grits for you!

[tagishsimon]

Good grief. What a pissy AC; and incapable of stringing a comprehensible sentence together. Thank Taco that the /. team designed a moderation system which routes around morons.

But hey, being nevertheless stung by the lack of acquired Karma, I thought I'd submit the following gemettes of data, since apparantly my previous more generic argument failed to sway the AC

As the story relates, a complaint has been made in the UK Parliament about the dilatory nature of US justice, which appears to be acting in the interests of US big business and against that of a UK pipsqueak company. The original complaint can be found by searching for "Allvoice" at the URL http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/ cgi-bin/empower?DB=ukparl (which URL, for some strange reason, is not accepted by /. as a valid link. Probably they're merely the soft face of US Hegemony, eh?). There's about a couple of pages of the Member of Parliament providing chapter & verse on the slings and arrows that have outraged the patent holders.

It all relates to teeny tiny Allvoice [allvoice.co.uk], who when they're not inventing the future are happy to dash out, screwdriver in hand, to fettle your fallen-down PC. Not a business renowned for making fortunes, so unsuprising they're feeling the pinch taking on US big business

Allvoices patents, which are the McGuffins in this episode, are available for inspection here [espacenet.com] but you'll have to use the bottom of the three search boxes on the left side to search for "Allvoice", since I cannot be bothered to list the six patents individually. You can get to a PDF of the full patent in each case.

None of which has anything to say about the price of bread, for which I refer you to my previous post.

What is this about?

[torboth]

Excuse me, but no-one seems to have realised that this is a case of another really stupid patent, whose ever it is! A patent on using a computer by voice. I thought patent were supposed to show that some real brain power had gone into getting an idea, not just some stupid get rich quick scheme based upon your patent being eventually used by some one bigger, because its so damn obvious. I'm sure the patent owner are thrilled that IBM are infringing it, as it gives them a way of making money without actually doing any work. What is happening when everyone turns a blind eye to the fact that this should never have been accepted for a patent in the first place. Its rediculous.