[smooth_remmy]

Instead of trust busting these companies, the libertarian answer to them would be to invalidate their patents.

Google partially remains a search monopoly because of its search patents - of which it has many. If the state invalidates its patents and then moves out of the way, other competitors will naturally become successful.

There is no need to break up companies. Just take away some of their state-imposed advantages like patents.

[thr0wawayf00]

> Google partially remains a search monopoly because of its search patents

According to this piece on Google's patent strategy, big tech benefits when the value of patents decreases anyway, which cuts against your argument[0].

Google gets pretty much everything it wants anyway, the gist of this piece is that individual patent holders that sue tech companies get a lot more value out of patents than the big companies do. Big companies benefit as the value of patents decrease, which is what you're calling for here.

One huge reason for this is the network effect advantages that big tech companies have. Anyone can build a Facebook clone that copies most of the primary functionality, but it'll never gain traction because why would anyone leave the already-established social media network? All of their friends are already on there.

In Google's case, numerous search engine alternatives have existed for years and yet Google remains pretty strong. I cannot find a case of Google asserting patent authority over a competing search engine, which tells me that it's doing just fine maintaining it's hold over the search market "naturally".

Consumer technology use is notoriously habitual and cannot achieve market equilibrium when patents are removed. Sorry, but this is an oversimplified argument that doesn't reflect how Google's technology functions in the search market.

0: https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/03/21/how-google-and-big-tec...

[ncallaway]

Wouldn't invalidating the patents of companies that are too powerful and abusive in the market just be another "trust busting" tactic?

I don't see how that is separate from "trust busting", but rather just another way to bust trusts?

[JohnWhigham]

I guess it could be, but I think his point is that from a libertarian angle, the government should be out of the picture as much as possible. And one of the biggest ways to do this is invalidating software patents which would remove some of the massive barriers of entry needed to compete against the Googles/Facebooks.

[handrous]

Take away their state-imposed advantage of incorporation, how about.