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List:       dmca-discuss
Subject:    Re: [DMCA_Discuss] Patents Hurt (or help?) was: [IT World  Feature: Patently ridiculous: What's Euro
From:       Kevin Marks <kmarks () mac ! com>
Date:       2002-08-23 17:22:27
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On Friday, August 23, 2002, at 06:52 AM, Jean-Michel Smith wrote:
> If we really want to encourage publication of inventions anyway 
> (something
> which does add redundancy to the flow and preservation of knowledge) 
> rather
> than secrecy, fine.  But do not grant government enforced monopolies 
> to do
> so!
>
> Instead, come up with another financial incentive that doesn't destroy 
> free
> market competition for 20 years (or 95 years, or 5 years, or 10 days). 
>  An
> example would be a tax incentive, where the entity that registers a 
> patent is
> not required to pay [sales|corporate] taxes on the earnings derived 
> from
> their invention for some limited time.  No one else is prevented from 
> using
> the patent in question, nor is any licensing required (or possible), 
> but any
> competitor is going to have to compete against the inventor who has a 
> fiscal
> advantage in that they are not taxed on their invention, while all 
> their
> competitors are.

My proposal is the exponential fee rise:

You can patent (or copyright - same principle) for 5 years initially. 
For the sixth year, you pay $1. Each year thereafter, you pay double 
the previous year. If you don't pay, your patent or copyright falls 
into the public domain.

This makes sure the holders do an annual cost/benefit tradeoff, and 
those who hoard copyrights get charged accordingly.

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