Riot Games has to patent features to avoid being patent trolled.

[Faceplosion]

Over on Reddit, there has been some anger regarding some of Riot's patents;

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1x3v1u/riot_games_granted_us_patent_on_spectator_mode/

 

Riot games has made an official response to this over on their website;

 

http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20140206/1165/no-interest-using-patents-offensively

 

The company says it has no interest in acting aggressively with its patents on features such as a spectator mode, but instead patents out these things to avoid the patent trolls.

 

I think this speaks tons about just how broken the patent system is. We have dishonest people and companies destroying competition with patents. Pharmaceutical companies refuse to research any life-saving medicine that isn't patentable, and will in many cases market drugs that they have a patent on that is less effective than a generic drug on which they don't. Now every major company effectively has to patent all of their features, and then we have to trust these companies not to start patent trolling other companies.

 

I love that the message links to a website where you can do something about it: https://defendinnovation.org/

 

I've already added my signature to the list, and I encourage all of you to do that same. Maybe one day, we can get the patent system working well again.

[qwertywarrior]

very interesting !

[KakaoDj]

Why haven't the US gotten around to fixing the patent system? Cus MUH FREEDUMBZ and MUH WAR?

[kuddlesworth9419]

No it doesn't. Just ignore patent trolls and they will go away. No but seriously America really needs some legislation that stops this kind of sh*t from going on. Just make it illegal to patent any video game mechanic. How hard is that.

[flibberdipper]

Why haven't the US gotten around to fixing the patent system? Cus MUH FREEDUMBZ and MUH WAR?

Tup.

[flibberdipper]

No it doesn't. Just ignore patent trolls and they will go away. No but seriously America really needs some legislation that stops this kind of sh*t from going on. Just make it illegal to patent any video game mechanic. How hard is that.

That would be nice, but you know it will never happen.

[TheRetiredSlave]

No it doesn't. Just ignore patent trolls and they will go away. No but seriously America really needs some legislation that stops this kind of sh*t from going on. Just make it illegal to patent any video game mechanic. How hard is that.

 

You can't just ignore someone who sues you.. Legally, you either have to pay what they want or fight them in court; I don't think there are any other options.

 

But yeah, I agree that America definitely needs laws protecting people from copyrighting/patenting common sense ideas (like round corners on phones, cough cough) to prevent patent trolling from happening..

[kuddlesworth9419]

That would be nice, but you know it will never happen.

Well yea but having companies patent video game mechanics will inevitably ruin gaming all together. 

[kuddlesworth9419]

You can't just ignore someone who sues you.. Legally, you either have to pay what they want or fight them in court; I don't think there are any other options.

 

But yeah, I agree that America definitely needs laws protecting people from copyrighting/patenting common sense ideas (like round corners on phones, cough cough) to prevent patent trolling from happening..

I was just joking but yea I think the court system is seriously f*cked. Something really needs to be done and quick otherwise we will stop getting any innovation in all technology. 

[Yoinkerman]

Starcraft 1 had spectator mode?

[BloodySinner]

No it doesn't. Just ignore patent trolls and they will go away. No but seriously America really needs some legislation that stops this kind of sh*t from going on. Just make it illegal to patent any video game mechanic. How hard is that.

 

I think it should be illegal to patent an idea that has not be brought to fruition or introduced into a product. That or patent descriptions should be less vague and give specific examples of what they're trying to protect.

[kuddlesworth9419]

I think it should be illegal to patent an idea that has not be brought to fruition or introduced into a product. That or patent descriptions should be less vague and give specific examples of what they're trying to protect.

Well that to. It would prevent a company patenting things that can't exist yet. 

[KenixKill96]

The  Title is awesome

[JJB]

apple patented everything they made and without the broken patent system, there wouldn't be windows. i think this is because the government doesn't want 1 company to get overpowered

[mr moose]

apple patented everything they made and without the broken patent system, there wouldn't be windows. i think this is because the government doesn't want 1 company to get overpowered

that's not true.  Windows was going to happen regardless of apple. Remember windows was not apples IP.

 

 

On the not of the broken IP system, all they need to do is make it so a company cannot hold a patent unless the item is commercialised product/venture, I.E a fuel company cannot hold a patent on an electric car unless it makes and sells cars the patent pertains to, or a tech company can't hold a patent for a specific technology that isn't implemented in one of it's major products.  That will stop patent troll companies at least.

[mgsstar]

So guess that if you don't want to get patent trolled just patent everything you release lol.

[Constantine]

I think it should be illegal to patent an idea that has not be brought to fruition or introduced into a product. That or patent descriptions should be less vague and give specific examples of what they're trying to protect.

IIRC, you can apply for a patent prematurely but you have to release the product within 6-12 months or something of that measure.

[Ethnod]

Fair play to Riot, really good way of raising awareness of the issues they are facing, attempting to encourage gamers to get more involves with politics and taking the heat off them. Liking it

[mr moose]

IIRC, you can apply for a patent prematurely but you have to release the product within 6-12 months or something of that measure.

This is the way it should be, I was told many years ago that you could not patent something unless you were making money out of it, but I can't find anything to support that. So it appears you can patent something and then sit on it so others can't make money from it. However the flip side to the patent is that when you patent something you must make all the details available to the public, this includes any information required to reproduce the patented item, which means companies can still look at it and develop something different/better.