A Sad Statement: The Best Way To Deal With Patent Threats Is To Be Less Open

from the bad-for-innovation dept

Colleen Chien and Stefani Shanberg have a post over at TechCrunch that provides ten suggestions for how startups can and should deal with patent threats from trolls these days, which is unfortunately depressing. It's not because the ideas aren't good -- they're exactly what most startups probably should know. But the last item really bugs me:

10. Advice For All Times: Don’t Be An Easy Target

Trolls pick their targets by studying websites, looking at product specs, and trying to make out a case that you need their patent. Don’t make it easy for them. Require registration before granting access to whitepapers, detailed documents, or video tutorials that delve into the behind-the-scenes details. Think twice about being on customer lists or advertising the ins and outs of your business, the products you use, etc., unless there’s a good business reason for doing so. Often it is the companies that advertise most successfully that are the most frequent targets of troll demands — troll threats should not drive business decisions, but don’t be surprised when your successful marketing campaign is followed by an onslaught of troll letters.

This isn't a surprise. Of course, we've highlighted how companies often get hit up by patent trolls right after they make news. But what this is really saying is "don't be open." And while that may be a good strategy for a company seeking to avoid patent lawsuits, it's a horrible strategy for increasing innovation. Research into innovation and economic growth have shown time and time again that what helps create that kind of innovation is more openness and more sharing. It's the information sharing that made Silicon Valley into Silicon Valley.

What's stunning -- and depressing -- is that the patent system is supposed to be the thing that encourages innovation. And yet, because it's become totally dysfunctional, one of the recommendations for how to avoid running afoul of it now... is to do the exact thing that holds back and limits innovation. What a shame.

Filed Under: innovation, openness, patent trolls, patents

Auto Dealers Complain That Tesla Stores Are Illegal... Despite Not Actually Selling Anything

from the stupid-regulations dept

Another day, another story of stupid protectionist regulations getting in the way of anyone trying to be innovative. This time, it's about Tesla, the well known electric car company based out here in California. Apparently, various states have set up ridiculous protectionist laws that say it's illegal for automakers to sell cars directly to consumers in retail settings. The various car dealer lobbyists who pushed to get those laws passed are now complaining that Tesla and its high end "stores" violate that law -- despite the fact that you can't actually buy a Tesla car in a Tesla store. In order to stay on the correct side of these idiotic laws, you can go into the stores and learn all about the Tesla... but if you want to buy, you have to go online and put money down via Tesla's website. The dealers are arguing that "anything that gets you to the executed contract is part of the sale," but that's ridiculous. A magazine ad. A TV commercial. Plenty of other things can "get you to the executed contract" and are perfectly reasonable.

What's really going on here is that states have passed these protectionist laws to help out independent dealerships who worried that car companies might decide to cut out one of the more annoying middlemen in the world and go direct to consumers. So they passed these laws which serve no purpose, whatsoever, other than to encourage greater annoyance and overhead for car buyers. Just the fact that you can't actually buy a Tesla at a store should highlight how silly this -- but the fact that these dealers are still complaining and arguing that the company violates the law shows just how petty they can be.

Filed Under: car dealers, disruption, electric cars, innovation, regulations
Companies: tesla