Or maybe the FTC will get its first loss right as it starts to transition from the Obama administration to the incoming administration.
Is THIS another cheap political jab?
alextheblue :
Reducing/eliminating patent royalties would absolutely reduce costs for consumers. That much is true. But patent royalties are actually a huge incentive to invest in technology. If you greatly reduce or eliminate royalties and possibly even force licensing, that would hurt the firms that are creating new technology and reduce the incentive to invest in new designs. At the same time, if the Chinese me-too chip firms can use these patents for free/cheap, they could further undercut the top chipmakers (more so than they already do), hurting industry-wide profitability in the long term as well.
Don't get me wrong, that's a somewhat separate issue from patent abuse. They need to be fair about their licensing, and there is a middle ground between "free everything, get rid of patents" and "nobody can use my patents unless I say so, and even then I rob them blind". Qualcomm has been abusive, but at the same time we need to tread carefully to avoid setting a bad legal precedent.
Patent trolls definitely need to be crushed out of ownership and business. Unfortunately, with all the "updates" to the patent (and coyright) system, updates that can easily give a perpetual ownership, It defeats the very intention of the system as designed by our founding fathers. (Invent, collect royalties to recoup invention costs and some profit, allow the market to freely use it after a period of set time, not own and cash in on it for perpetually forever.) You're right though, there should be a middle-ground and unfortunately through legal manipulation of lawmakers, that middle ground is shrinking along with the original intent of the patent (and copyright) system.
SockPuppet :
The good ol' American dream. Start a business and make a life for yourself. Unless your business gets TOO successful. Then we'll fine you billions of dollars because your competition isn't as good as you are.
What you describe is a pervasive attitude that is invading all life activities. (The other team played harder, practiced harder, etc. We can't reward them for their drive to be the best, so everyone gets the same reward: Fostering the why try when I get the exact same reward attitude that is growing.)
There shouldn't be a TOO successful penalty
unless it can be proven that it was because of extortion tactics, physical threat tactics, or other underhanded and"legal" means (i.e. threats of lawsuits on those who can't afford to defend,) [ahem... Microsoft.] Unfortunately the Patent and Copyright systems are BOTH full of such tactics... and patent and copyright trolls cash in on it. (I'm not trying to say Qualcomm is a patent abuser, that has yet to be proven that they are even remotely so.) However, if you are "too successful" you better be prepared to always show it was from real work and not shady or underhanded means.