Consider this summary of Cringely’s in-depth article in regard to the current proposed change to patent law being championed by big companies and stealthily pushed through Congress:
The point of all this reform, it seems to me, is to make it harder
for small inventors to make a living. If they are all thieves, maybe
that’s as it should be. But what if they aren’t all thieves? What
if they actually invent most of the stuff we value? Then all of us
are being ill-served by this legislation.
Microsoft loves it, of course. Under the proposed law it is almost
impossible to get the treble damages that are at the core of the
contingency lawyer-client relationship. That, alone, drops
Microsoft’s liability by a factor of three, from around $20 billion
down to $7 billion or so from the dozens of patent infringement cases
currently pending against the company.
Yes, Microsoft may well be a prime target for frivolous patent
infringement suits, but Microsoft historically has also shown itself
to be a consistent and willful patent infringer.
In short, the bill is bad. It reflects the worst kind of special
interest law-making that hurts us all. And I mean REALLY hurts us
because it will only act to discourage inventors. Record and movie
companies beating-up on music and film pirates don’t save or cost
lives, but discouraging new medical inventions literally does cost
lives.
That ought to be as obvious as looking up a number in the phone book.
Cringely describes Microsoft’s interests clearly. Equivalent interests can be exposed with regard to IBM and other large companies who are funding the “reform” effort.
