Heinlein and Patents
 

So, im reading Expanded Universe (collection of short stories) by Heinlein and he mentions that when someone tried to patent a "waterbed" they couldnt do it because he had written about it, and it was in public domain.

Hell, science fiction has been writing around internet file transmissions forever :-)

I found it funny.

What you have to remeber about the "Patent Game" and the way it's played in the US. It's not about whether the patent is valid, it's about how much money you make from it, even if it's invalid.

It would be nice to have a real valid patent that 100% covers what you are enforcing. However a vague broad patent can be more of a money spinner. This is how it works.

1) Find a patent.
2) Buy it.
3) Look for companies that you can intimidate into licensing.
4) Send out 1,000s of packages telling them a lot about nothing.
5) Start to approach them on the basis it's cheaper to license than fight.
6) Market the hell out of it, tell eveyone who signed up and scare the rest.
7) Pray no one calls you bluff and takes you to court.
8) Fight is as cheaply as you can when it gets to court.
9) Come out of court with an invalid patant and $25,000,000 in license fees.

All sound very familiar?

Well the problem is there are a lot of companies that work this system. Thanks to all the guys that signed up paying the license and those still doing business with them, we will get fucked again by "Patent Lawyers Firms"