To offer another perspective on defensive patents, it's worth taking a look at the Defensive Patent Licence devised by Jason Schultz and Jennifer Urban. https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/facpubs/2149/
Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
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Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#112Elon Musk open sourced most of Tesla's patents for a freer innovation.
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#113"Facebook has said repeatedly that its patent applications should not be taken as indications of future product plans. "Most of the technology outlined in these patents has not been included in any of our products, and never will be," Allen Lo, a Facebook vice president and deputy general counsel, and the company's head of intellectual property, said in an email."
The author suggests Facebook through these filings shows a commitment to collecting personal information. Mr. Lo's statement does not deny this suggestion. Note also he uses the word "most". This implies that some of the technology has been or will be used by Facebook.
Instead of addressing the issue, Lo recited a truism. (At least that is all we're told about the email response.)
The truism is that out of all US patent applications filed by all applicants for all inventions, the vast majority are never embodied in either a product nor a service. For a company with its size and budget, it is obvious that this would apply to Facebook.
What is a US patent? It is not a "government-granted monopoly". It is not a right to make or sell an invention. In terms of rights, it is nothing more than the right to sue an accused infringer.
By seeking patent protection for methods Facebook will never use, Facebook demonstrates it has an interest in either (a) being able to sue others who might use them and/or (b) whether anyone else has that ability.
Thus, the question for Mr. Lu is why Facebook wants to be able to sue others for patent infringement based on the methods disclosed in these applications and/or why it cares if others have that ability.
If we are to believe that Facebook will never use the methods disclosed in the applications, then we can also believe that Facebook would never be a target of patent litigation based on use of the methods in these applications. As such they would have no reason to want to keep others from having the ability to sue.
If we are to believe Facebook is hoping to license or sell these applications to others, then we can also believe that Facebook does not care if others use the "creepy" methods disclosed in the applications. In that case, Facebook's interests are misaligned with the interests of users who care about use of methods like the ones disclosed in these applications.
If we are to believe Facebook wants patent rights as a "defensive", retaliatory or coercive measure against some other company (e.g., Facebook wants counterclaims if it is sued, or wants to be able to make Steve Jobs-like threats of "thermo-nuclear war" via patent litigation) then we can also believe that Facebook perceives itself in competition with companies that may practice the "creepy" methods in these applications.
The underlying issue raised by these applications and many others filed by Facebook is the nature of its interest in collecting personal information (cf. merely publishing information that users choose to upload or post):
Does Facebook perceive itself in competition with companies that collect personal information and take money from advertisers? Does Facebook perceive itself in competition with companies who would use the methods in these application? If yes, why?
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who has multiple issued patents from large companies.. It's a pretty complex issue. I personally think software patents should be outlawed, as I don't know a better solution. On the one hand, I have several patents for project(s) that took years to develop. The processes are unique, very difficult to replicate, and should be offered some protection (if we agree that motor designs should be protected). The…
If your name is on a patent, can you use it anytime? Like if you change jobs?
Typically no, because employees 'sell' their rights to the patent to their employer when filing the patent application. It is customary for the employees to get a silver dollar as a token that has monetary value (hence the sale) and we can thank Richard Feynman for forcing there to be an actual transfer of money :)
I should also add that usually the inventor can't take the patent to their next job but if the inventor wrote super-narrow claims into the patent then that would be easy to work around at a future employer.
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#115This is really disturbing. I daily use and consume instagram and whatsapp. I need to find a way to get out of these social apps.
:(
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
>intellectual property law is immoral on the grounds that it creates artificial barriers to prosperity for individuals who don’t receive the benefits of the patents It is also a wealth transfer from the poor to the wealthy: the justice system protecting IP capital is financed by taxpayers, the hard majority of which hold no patents.
Consider that the majority of federal tax revenues are generated by top income earners. It’s more of a wealth transfer between different groups of the wealthy. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/06/a-closer-loo...
Patents take money from the poor by denying them the prosperity at low-cost that would happen if there were no patents.
Patents are government-enforced monopolies. They enable all of what anyone would expect with monopolies, namely high prices for consumers.
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
The beauty of this approach is that patents expire after ~15-20 years so it is basically just guaranteeing that everything will be free and clear soon.
For technology that is obselete in 5 years.
certain implementations will become obsolete, but once the concept is patented and the patent expires it can be re-implemented by anyone, forever. If you don't want to wait the five years, there is an astonishing amount of prior art from the 1960's to 1990's that can be applied.
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who has multiple issued patents from large companies.. It's a pretty complex issue. I personally think software patents should be outlawed, as I don't know a better solution. On the one hand, I have several patents for project(s) that took years to develop. The processes are unique, very difficult to replicate, and should be offered some protection (if we agree that motor designs should be protected). The…
If your name is on a patent, can you use it anytime? Like if you change jobs?
You always may rightfully say you're the inventor (or one of several) of a patent issued for something you invented.
But you can't "use it" unless you own rights to the invention. Patent inventorship and ownership are different things.
Most likely, you assigned all rights to your invention to your employer at the time of invention. The patent will name you as the inventor, and your then-employer will have all rights to the invention.
Neither you nor your next employer can use the patent unless you negotiate permission from the rights holder (your former employer or whomever they sold the rights to).
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#119Facebooks entire business revolves around collecting personal information. Their business model is entirely inconsistent with personal privacy and everyone needs to know that.
The face/mask of Facebook is that they are a platform for sharing, and that FB users 'know' what they are sharing and making public. Users mistakenly assume that is the limit to the personal data that FB collects. I don't know why FB felt a need to go beyond that and start stalking everyone on the internet. They made their choice.
Point being, FB could have focused their data collection on only that information that their user's post.
Re: Facebook’s patents show a commitment to collecting personal information
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Consider that the majority of federal tax revenues are generated by top income earners. It’s more of a wealth transfer between different groups of the wealthy. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/06/a-closer-loo...
Patents take money from the poor by denying them the prosperity at low-cost that would happen if there were no patents. Patents are government-enforced monopolies. They enable all of what anyone would expect with monopolies, namely high prices for consumers.
Reasonably time limited patents are a necessary component of incentivizing innovation, without which consumers would not realize new goods and services based off of those innovations.