Patents again

Patents again – notes to self:

The drive to patent hardly makes sense outside of the USA. So what drives companies in say Europe to file for patents in Europe?

My guesses…

1. The fear of making a mistake by not patenting. That is a fear driven by a lack of understanding.

2. Also, most companies have always patented so it’s a habit derived from older days when patenting made financial sense (from market benefits to their market share of profit margin), before the prior art documents became heavier than the planet.

3. The economics of patents are so complex that no one has ever done a proper economic assessment to show that patenting outside of the USA in the modern era really isn’t worth it.

4. Patents are an insurance policy in case anyone ever sue a company for patent infringement. A lottery ticket for an insurance against being sued.

5. It is oligarchical behaviour – the big guys patent all their inventions and then cross-licence them. The net costs of cross-licensing to their business is zero minus the nuisance cost of patenting. The patents are just a ‘coupon’ which gives them something tangible to discuss in their licensing contracts. The little guys don’t get to play and are to a large degree kept out of the market by the fear of litigation.