[ih] patents and public stewardship

[Karl Auerbach]

On 2/4/24 12:35 PM, Jack Haverty via Internet-history wrote:

We are rather drifting away from my initial suggestion that rather than 
discarding IETF drafts after six months that we assign them to some nice 
non-profit qualified body (such as ISOC) to manage and to make a bit of 
revenue.  I perhaps triggered a tripwire by mentioning that such a body 
could also be a useful repository for any patents, trademarks, or 
copyrights that someone owns and would like to make the legal rights 
available to the world, even beyond the end of their lifetimes.

(I am aware of the issues of ISOC, PIR, and .org - but apart from 
recognizing that bodies can and do change over time, especially if under 
financial pressure, I don't think this thread ought to do more than 
recognize that those events are subject to diverse interpretations.)

> From my admittedly anecdotal experience over about 2 years of patent 
> battle, it seemed to me that the only way to participate in the patent 
> system is to be a very large corporation, or at least an individual 
> with deep pockets able to withstand the possible years or decades of 
> battle in the system.

You are right that sometimes very deep pockets are necessary. But that 
is not always the case, particularly at the filing/issuance stage.

We have obtained US patents for less than $10K in initial drafting and 
filing costs.  Our patent attorney is really good at telling us what 
parts we can do ourselves (in order to reduce his time/fees) and even 
has us practice with a couple of things (such as filing provisionals.)  
It doesn't hurt to take a look at books such as the Nolo Press' "Patent 
It Yourself" to become familiar with some of the steps and terminology.  
(Admittedly, our patent person is a friend and we are probably getting 
preferential rates on fees.)

As you and others mention, the cost of defending or attacking a patent 
can be high.  But as I mentioned, having an issued patent with its 
presumption of validity creates strong protective barrier that an 
attacker has to penetrate.

In our own experience, patents are best though of as bargaining chips 
rather than things to fight over.

It was mentioned by John L. that one can simply not patent something at 
all or could abandon a patent.  Same for copyrights and trademarks.  
Sure.  But part of the discussion here was regarding vehicles so that 
groups like ISOC could demonstrate public support and obtain $ revenue.

By-the-way, I was rather amused by the reference to the ISOC posting 
policy in that that policy fails to enshrine the grant of rights over 
the posted materials with an explicit non-revocation provision.

     --karl--