Richard Posner on software patents
Richard Posner is an influential US judge. He became prominent in the patent debate in 2012 when he dismissed a law suit between Apple and Google.
Contents
Apple v. Google in 2012
Posner is an appeals court judge but decided to come down to a district court to hear a patent suit which Apple filed against Google's Motorola Mobility division, along with Google's countersuit. The trial was due to start on Monday, 11 June, but Posner released a statement on the Friday beforehand saying that although there may be infringement, no damage had been proven and he had decided to dismiss the case "with prejudice" (thus no further case possible for the same infringement).
On software not needing patents
Posner published a few articles in the months after the Apple case, with statements which seem to directly support abolishing software patents, although he didn't discuss this option:
the need for patent protection in order to provide incentives for innovation varies greatly across industries. (...) Most industries could get along fine without patent protection. (...) I would lay particular stress on the cost of invention. [...in industries where...] the cost of a specific improvement may be small, and when that is true it is difficult to make a case for granting a patent. The improvement will be made anyway, without patent protection, as part of the normal competitive process in markets where patents are unimportant.[1]
Related pages on ESP Wiki
External links
- The solution to Posner’s patent problem, 19 July 2012, ESP news
- Judge Posner: U.S. patent system out of sync, 5 July 2012, Chicago Tribune
- Judge Posner Rips Apart Apple's Patent Litigation Strategy: Being 'Really Annoyed' Is No Reason To Sue, 25 June 2012, Techdirt
- Famous judge spikes Apple-Google case, calls patent system “dysfunctional”, 8 June 2012, Gigaom
- Judge who shelved Apple trial says patent system out of sync, 5 June 2012, Reuters
Articles by Posner
- Do patent and copyright law restrict competition and creativity excessively?, 30 Sep 2012
- Why There Are Too Many Patents in America, 12 July 2012
