Comment Re:Patents? (Score 1) 598
Patents create a legal monopoly on the right to practice the inventions of the patent. This is very different from copyright which deals with the right to copy and distribute.
In practice, very few patents are enforced at the end user level, simply because it is not economical to do so. This is probably why you're not aware that it does, in fact, allow for suits directly to the infringing user, rather than just the product developer.
Recently, however, there have been a number of companies formed to try to exploit patent portfolio's. When they can, they go after suppliers, but in some cases they go after end-users, typically large corporations.
There is one group with 150 patents on call center technology trying to get every company that runs a call center to pay them money. I remember a company lawyer telling me they had received a notice offering to license the portfolio. The letter was one page, the list of addressees was 90 pages long.
In practice, very few patents are enforced at the end user level, simply because it is not economical to do so. This is probably why you're not aware that it does, in fact, allow for suits directly to the infringing user, rather than just the product developer.
Recently, however, there have been a number of companies formed to try to exploit patent portfolio's. When they can, they go after suppliers, but in some cases they go after end-users, typically large corporations.
There is one group with 150 patents on call center technology trying to get every company that runs a call center to pay them money. I remember a company lawyer telling me they had received a notice offering to license the portfolio. The letter was one page, the list of addressees was 90 pages long.
