Comments on: Have the patent wars come to cleantech? http://gigaom.com/2012/02/14/have-the-patent-wars-come-to-cleantech/ Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:42:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Adam Lesser http://gigaom.com/2012/02/14/have-the-patent-wars-come-to-cleantech/#comment-809974 Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:54:59 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=484870#comment-809974 Michael, I agree that Nest’s profile has drawn attention to patent lawsuits in cleantech and there have been prior suits in the sector. But the tact that Honeywell is taking, using extremely broad patents like asking a user “What temperature do you like when the heat is on” to learn their behavior, is a business strategy, not a means to protect valuable IP. People like James Bessen at BU Law School have been outspoken about how the number of patent lawsuits has tripled since the 90s, and while some of that is IP development a lot is an attempt sew up markets.

In the end the solutions have more to do with creating a more knowledgeable US Patent Office that has a better understanding of what’s “non obvious” as well as a fair licensing system so that startups can move forward with tech development knowing they can access IP at a reasonable cost.

]]> By: michael kanellos http://gigaom.com/2012/02/14/have-the-patent-wars-come-to-cleantech/#comment-809587 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:28:25 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=484870#comment-809587 Butamax v. Gevo. Westinghouse v. Solar. FIsker v. Tesla had trade overtones. Patent suits have been going on in green for years. Licensing from labs has expanded in the last ten years. The difference is that individuals and reporters are paying more attention to this suit because it involves Nest, and the Nest founders came from Apple. What has changed is the celebrity status of one of the parties.

Disclosure: I’m a big believer in the patent system and think that most of the complaints about trolls are exaggerated. http://news.cnet.com/Why-I-love-patents-and-copyrights/2010-1008_3-6182429.html?tag=mncol;8n

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