> A patent is a limited-time monopoly to an idea that you can then extract value from
That's the incentive given to the inventor. In exchange society is supposed to eventually get access to an idea that anyone can make use of.
There's a huge breakdown with this system though--the majority of software patents aren't written in a way that would allow someone to reproduce them. Or as you've pointed out they're so obvious that they would have existed without the patent monopoly grant.
That's the incentive given to the inventor. In exchange society is supposed to eventually get access to an idea that anyone can make use of.
There's a huge breakdown with this system though--the majority of software patents aren't written in a way that would allow someone to reproduce them. Or as you've pointed out they're so obvious that they would have existed without the patent monopoly grant.
If society isn't benefiting, there's no point.