Mike Masnick highlights a great post:

Debunking Some Big Myths About Patents

from the stop-using-these-arguments dept

Rick Falkvinge recently put together an excellent post debunking ten of the common myths you hear about patents. Here’s a taste:

Myth 2: Patents drive innovation.

Fact: Patents do not drive innovation, they ban innovation. A patent is, by its very definition, something that bans the entire world except the patent holder from building and improving on a particular innovative step. If patents are driving innovation, which is claimed, then this outright ban must be shown to have side effects that somehow drive innovation to a larger extent than the extent to which the direct ban destroys it. No such side effects have turned out to exist.

To the contrary, patents are being used by incumbent industries to shut down disruptive competition. Rather than competing with better products and services, the current kings-of-the-hill are finding it more cost efficient competing with more expensive lawyers. This does neither drive innovation nor a healthy competitive market.

Other myths debunked are claims that investors won’t invest without patents, that patents are a useful measure of innovation, that the problem is just with patent trolls, that patents disclose innovation, and a few others as well. It’s really a fantastic read. It likely won’t change the minds of patent system supporters, but for anyone involved in these debates, it’s a very straightforward and clear debunking of many of the common myths about the importance of the patent system.

Update: Mark Lemley: The Very Basis Of Our Patent System… Is A Myth