[pyre]

  I think it was 1992 or so before it was really clear
  that patents were the true and final nemesis of my
  chosen profession.

The real issue is that patents favor large players (even if they are 'branching out' and aren't an incumbent in a particular area) to the detriment of smaller players.

[beernutz]

I think the REAL issue, is that they lock up IDEAS. Ideas by themselves are inherently worthless. It's the EXECUTION that matters. Everyone has ideas. Some are great, some suck. The idea by itself is really meaningless until someone does something with it. Ideas, to me, are like knowledge. They should never be locked up, and should be freely shared.

[SoftwareMaven]

Patents aren't supposed to lock up abstract ideas, they are supposed to unlock concrete implementations of ideas (unlock by giving details of the implementation to the public in exchange for a short-term monopoly).

There are good arguments either way for whether this is a good idea, but make the ideas far more abstract (like software) and add incredibly short technology cycles (like software), and there is no doubt it's a bad idea.

[makomk]

Patents have never actually worked that way though. For instance, take a look at the history of the early US automobile industry sometime.

[beernutz]

That is an excellent point! The way they are used vs. the way they are MEANT to be used, seem to be worlds apart.