[YBA] i4i vs MS?

[geoffrey mendelson]

On Aug 16, 2009, at 11:57 AM, Danny Lieberman wrote:

> Geoff
>
> Good point -but a tactical one.
>
> A provisional patent  can be  a deterrent to competitors and copiers.
>
> 1. relatively cheap
> 2. the spec remains secret
> 3. delays legal and filing fees
> 4. relatively easy to write
> 5. enables the product to be marked patent pending
> 6. Gives a startup a head-start in market development
>
> However -  being able to protect an idea in the interim is far from  
> being a sufficient condition for success.

IMHO you are taking it too far. Success is the result of many factors.  
Just having a good idea, a patent, a good business plan, honest  
competitors, etc does not guarentee success. In fact nothing  
guarentees success, and going by the numbers (75% of all startups fail  
in the first year), one can almost guarentee faliure.

Based upon Israeli statistics, about 38% of all companies fail in the  
first year, you could question that. The Israeli statistic defines a  
company as either incorporating or filing for a business tax number,  
which explains the difference. Most startups start and disapear which  
still being in "stealth mode", i.e. privately funded with no legal  
existance.

> The other factors - a really divergent idea, a new market space, a  
> clear strategy and perfect execution  are overwhelmingly more  
> important.

> Let me put it this way - more startups fail because of personality  
> issues with the founders than because some bad people stole an idea  
> that could have been protected by a provisional patent.


That's irrelevant to the discussion of patents. It's very relevant to  
the discussion in general, but IMHO, no matter how good the idea, how  
new the market space, how well the people get along and  how good the  
product will be, if someone else markets it first, with a bigger/ 
better development team, more money, etc, there is no way the small  
company will succeed.

In countries that do allow software patents, not filing one, or  
announcing your intention to file one, may be considered the same as  
releasing an idea to the public domain, so one can legally and  
ethicaly use your idea without stealing it. In the US, you have one  
year from date of first publication to file a regular patent  
application, or your idea becomes public domain.

This whole discussion has been about tatics, AFAIK there was no  
technology discussed at all. Releasing an idea to the public domain is  
a tactic too.

Going back to the original topic, Microsoft as a publicly traded  
company has a legal obligation to its shareholders to avail itself of  
every legal protection it can for its IP and products.


Geoff.
-- 
geoffrey mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Jerusalem Israel geoffreymendelson at gmail.com