Publishing information is made dangerous

When companies can patent software ideas, publishing information is made dangerous because it highlights a domain where research is being done and thus where patent litigation might become profitable.

For example, in 2004, a paper was published on "Precise detection of memory leaks". In 2007, a patent application was filed at the USPTO for a follow-on invention. The 2007 application cited the 2004 paper as being part of the state-of-the-art which is extended by the patent application. The authors of the 2004 paper have no connection to the authors of the 2007 patent application. Ironically, one of the authors of the 2004 paper is a prominent member of anti-swpat group FFII.

[This is a specific case of how follow-on inventions are used to take from the commons. One "solution" would be to make all inventions automatically patentable so that the commons inventors (or authors) would have leverage over those wanting to lock the information up.]

Related pages on ESP Wiki

• Arguments
• Prior-art database
• Freedom of expression

External links

• A study showing that trolls do patent around published ideas (published patents) in the USA, by David Martin
• Coder Accuses IBM of Patenting His Work, 25 Nov 2010, Slashdot