Are Software Patents Stifling Innovation?

Pablo Chavez, Google's public policy director, spoke at the Technology Policy Institute’s conference this week and stated, "One thing that we are very seriously taking a look at is the question of software patents, and whether in fact the patent system as it currently exists is the right system to incent innovation and really promote consumer-friendly policies".

Having been in the messaging business for 15 years I can attest to the impact and cost of patent infringements. Companies have been known to collect patents (referred to as patent trolls) and derive business models by going after companies that have similar designs to their patents. The problem that often occurs is that it becomes less costly to settle than to argue your case in court. This then adds credibility to the patents, even if they are not an exact match.

Substantial monies are invested in bringing claims and defending patent positions, monies that could be used for new jobs, innovation, product improvements and increased stakeholder value. No one benefits from the patent lawsuits, while a company may win money in a settlement, the time and effort required to prove the case and bring experts in to testify, takes away from the filing company’s corporate direction and takes away substantial resources from the company being sued. In the end we as consumers pay the price with increased costs of services, fewer jobs and less innovation.

The challenge becomes how to protect a company’s investment without impeding innovation. Twitter announced in April a new patent credo and moved more control of the patents to their employees. Twitter published a draft of the Innovator’s Patent Agreement which basically allows the inventor to maintain control over their patents, and Twitter agrees not to use the patents to file offensive lawsuits designed to block technology development at other firms without permission of the inventor. I find this an interesting approach.

I personally have a software patent filed on behalf of my former company, and in fact the patent design is believed to be infringed by another company who built an app for a HP printing device. So I have seen firsthand how ideas and concepts can be created and used and end up in litigation. Because of the litigation between the two companies, I cannot really comment on my opinion on this particular patent, but I can say in general, as a society if we want our technology to become more innovative and grow our domestic organizations, than we need to figure out a new process for software patents.

Frank Toscano is a 15+ year specialist in cloud based services focusing on Product Management, Marketing and Security within the Cloud. He has worked for EasyLink Services and Premiere Global Services in a global role providing hosted services to Fortune 1000 clients. He is currently seeking employment with a cloud based provider in a senior level Product/Marketing role.