Obama Calls for Patent Reform to Topple Trolls

The primary problem is not NPEs, it's trivial "inventions" such as one-click purchasing and slide-to-unlock. If the bar were much higher for patents, then NPEs would not be a problem.<p>Having companies that licence out technology is a perfectly reasonable system, if the company has done significant research or purchased patents from people who have. A secondary market for significant inventions is probably a good thing; a secondary market for borderline obvious inventions is not.

I think dropping the default length of software patents to 5 years would be a really good first start. As a concession, I would suggest even slightly lowering the barrier to entry for getting such a patent, and then retaining a tier at 20 years with a MUCH higher threshold for inventiveness. There would still be bad software patents, but I think this would greatly limit the damage from them. The incentive for trolls would be enormously reduced if they can only extort license fees for a few years, while the lower barrier to entry would make it much easier for small entrepreneurs to actually get patents without going through 20 rounds with the patent office.<p>There needs to be a recognition that in software entire segments are born and die within 20 years (even within 10 years). 20 years protection on a simple idea is way too long, even if it is truly novel. This is not like drugs where it may take 10 years of trials before you can even get it on the market.

The list of reforms linked to in the article is here <a href="https://defendinnovation.org/" rel="nofollow">https://defendinnovation.org/</a> Note - not Obama's list.<p>I think #4 (no liability for independent invention) would effectively eliminate software patents by itself. I like what's there even if it seems unlikely to ever be implemented.

#1 Software patents should be for no more than 5 years.<p>Perhaps that should be true of all trivial inventions. Drug companies, for example, tweak best sellers coming off patent protection by adding another compatible compound and getting another 20 years, although the original compound looses protection.

To me its obvious that software patents should actually be abolished entirely.<p>If I am going to build a system and try to sell it, I sell it as a service with add-on support and make it open source. If I am buying a software system I usually expect the same thing. Or hope that I can sell it for a small fee or close source it and add copyright protection for a totally unique work.<p>But generally I feel that if someone invents a software concept or set of concepts that works well enough, then everyone should adopt it. Patents are just going to make that impractical. The idea of everyone licensing whatever useful system gets invented isn't practical and doesn't work with open source.

Patents cannot be reformed. The idea itself is dead. Let it go.

There are so many problems with the patent system, it's hard to identify a primary problem. I'd say the worst thing about it is that it is simply non-functional for any individual or small business.<p>Got a patent? Someone infringing? Sue them! Cost? Astronomical.<p>Selling something? Patent Trolls trying to make a grab? Defend yourself in court! Cost? Astronomical.<p>Those scenarios merely address outright abuse; but, the way patents are granted guarantees that those situations will also arise between parties who aren't trolls.

Unfortunately, "Troll" has turned into a political term to prevent "undesirables" the government or society does not want to fund from starting businesses from the "Trolls" intellectual property which the "Troll" spent years of his or her life developing.

Good! Let's start with Intellectual Ventures.

Trolls? Like Apple Corp. that patented bounce back scrolling? The problem is not trolls, the problem is the deep mental retardation of the current US patent system.<p>And it's not just a reform. All the issued patents must be revised and a lot of them must be revoked.<p>The solution seems to be simple, isn't it: don't patent trivial things, and only patent the actual methods, not just ideas of them.

Just wait for it, the Obama administration is going to be sued for infringing a patent for a process that protects people from patent trolls.