Ask HN: Are patents worthwhile?

[sam_in_nyc]

I'm nearing a release of something big. It's not what's in my profile, actually something a lot simpler than that, but with very large implications. Think "Quicksilver for the internet." You probably think I'm full of shit, but that's OK.

What are your thoughts on patenting web applications? What I'm working on could pretty easily be copied, which would really break my heart, but hasn't been done yet. It would be along the lines of patenting the "Quicksilver" application for Mac. If you don't know what this is, you hit Ctrl+space, start typing an Application name, and it fills it in for you and executes it for you, giving you ultra-quick access to most used apps. Ctrl+space, then "fi" then Enter would open up Firefox, for example.

Is Quicksilver patentable? Is it worthwhile to patent and idea like this?

[karim]

I think that something like this already exists for firefox : http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/

Patenting, is, imo, not a good idea. First, suppose that someone breaks your patent ? Are you going to engage a tedious lawsuit. Second, you should always be ahead of your concurrence. Third, you're already copying someone else's idea.

[timf]

And before joining Mozilla, the same guys who work on ubiquity worked on the similar product "enso launcher" for desktops which you should also investigate:

http://humanized.com/enso/launcher/

[sam_in_nyc]

Thanks for pointing this out!

How well is Ubiquity doing? I haven't really heard much about it except for one time on techcrunch a few months ago. Seems like this type of thing should be getting more attention...

[rms]

It's not particularly useful once your company is going, but investors like to see that your IP is exclusive and protected. It's still probably not worth the money to pay a lawyer to write it, but you can file a patent or provisional patent yourself for next to nothing. Check out the Nolo Press books on the topic.

[jacquesm]

The sooner patents are abolished the better.

That said, as long as they exist there are situations where patents make sense. If developing your product takes a couple of millions of dollars and it is truly innovative then it makes sense to take out a patent because the overhead is relatively low compared to the potential benefits.

For instance, the Dyson vacuum cleaner was protected by a patent and it helped them in going after Philips who shamelessly cloned it.

[noonespecial]

Unless you happen to have a couple hundred thousand laying around to actually prosecute an offender, a patent will do you little good.

You should spend your energy doing your thing. Simply having a good idea and doing it well is probably the best defense against those who would copy it. People who rip off ideas in the way that you are worried about usually do it so poorly that it doesn't matter.

[pclark]

you can't patent ideas. Even if you could, you couldn't afford to actually prosecute an offender.