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more on In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:44:24 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Bob Frankston <Bob2-19-0501 () bobf frankston com> Date: April 15, 2006 11:26:03 PM EDT To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox comCc: "'John Markoff'" <johnmarkoff () tmail com>, "'Dan Bricklin'" <danb () bricklin com>
Subject: RE: [IP] In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent Nice to know Geoff is back in the US. ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
More to the point if you think of the number of ideas that were “invented” in the first few decades imagine the damage that would have happened had there been a rush to patent everything. I put the words “invented” in quotes since I think of the process as more one of discovery and most were seen as just steps as part of larger steps.
What if a patent on token rings prevented any other work on networks, or SNOBOL preempted string processing in programming languages? Or if patenting wireless messages prevented the use of 802.11 for networks? Even if the patents were eventually overturned the only winners would be lawyers.
******* [ on the other hand, if I had filed a patent on our token ring, I would have prevented IBM from taking our work and stalling 6 years before they acknowledged the source of their ring. djf]
This is one reason I’m very wary of “invention factories” that attempt to preemptively patent ideas. Today’s software tools give many people the opportunity to discover new ideas and build on them. There is a vast yet subtle difference between protecting unusual inventions and preemptively locking up vast swaths of opportunity.
If Dan and I had patented VisiCalc what would we have prevented? That said if we had today’s patent system we would have done so. Yet I think I live in a world that is better because of what others have been able to contribute without impediment. But if you know of a good patent lawyer I’ve got lots of ideas that …
-----Original Message----- From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net] Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2006 18:50 To: ip () v2 listbox com Subject: [IP] In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent I kno him well and ued his stuff early djf Begin forwarded message: From: Jonathan B Spira <jspira () basex com> Date: April 15, 2006 7:03:45 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Subject: In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent Dave IP readers will learn from this tale. Regards/Mit freundlichen Grüßen/Szívélyes üdvözlet/Cordialement/ Cordiali saluti/Saludos/Vänliga hälsningar /s/ Jonathan Jonathan B. Spira CEO and Chief Analyst Basex, Inc. y jspira () basex com ( +1 (212) 725-2600 x113 8 http://www.basex.com April 16, 2006 In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent By JOHN MARKOFF MENLO PARK, Calif. GEOFF GOODFELLOW is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who came up with an idea that resulted in a $612.5 million payday. But he will never see a penny of it. He remains little known even in Silicon Valley and, perhaps most surprising, he doesn't really mind. And herein lies one of the stranger tales about innovation and money in the world of technology. A high-school dropout, Mr. Goodfellow had his light-bulb moment in 1982, when he came up with the idea of sending electronic mail messages wirelessly to a portable device — like a BlackBerry. Only back then, there was no BlackBerry; his vision centered on pagers. He eventually did get financial backing to start a wireless e-mail service in the early 1990's, but it failed. So, in 1998, he moved to Prague and bought a bar. While he was there, the BlackBerry did come along. Tending bar, he believed that everyone had forgotten that he had initially come up with the idea of wireless e-mail. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/technology/16wireless.html? _r=1&pagewanted=print ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as BobIP () Bobf Frankston com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ipArchives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- people/
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