[ohazi]

> One idea I had is to separate the unique component into its own library then give my own project the right to license/distribute the library, but I do not know if there are any off the shelf licenses that support that.

> I know that once it is viewed by competitors, they could reimplement the idea without directly using the 'source code' and add it to their pipeline/product.

These two things appear to be in conflict. If a competitor could easily re-implement the idea after seeing it work, then why do you care about exclusive rights to the library containing your implementation?

[dsanchez97]

I think that the fact that it is easy to re-implement once seen is what is interesting. From my understanding, the patent system was designed to protect ideas that once in the 'public eye' could easily be copied by companies with more resources.

A hypothetical example is that a small toy maker comes up with the idea for the Big Wheel (https://www.amazon.com/Original-Big-Wheel-Inch-Tricycle/dp/B...). They patent the design for the concept and begin manufacturing the Big Wheel. Once on the market, a big toy manufacturer could easily begin producing the exact same product because they have the resources to, so the fact that it is easy to reimplement does not mean that it is contradictory for the inventor to want a patent. The patent on the 'invention' of the Big Wheel would be the only thing the small inventor has to protect themselves.

I know that the world and community has benefited from open source and freely available software and that there is a bad history of software companies using the patent system in debatable ways, but there are also cases where it can look like big companies take advantage of the free and open ecosystem in ways that disincentivise future innovations.

[cma]

Did Big Wheels have any actual patents other than design patents (which aren't much related to functional patents). Was there not a penny-farthing trike before?

[dsanchez97]

I was just using that as an example haha I don't know anything about the actual history of the product. I just wanted to give an example of how the patent system could be used to protect small companies/inventors because it seems to mostly be used by established players now a days.

[pfraze]

A less hypothetical example might be Stories or Clubhouse, both of which got cloned as quickly as they hit the market.