Capitalism stifles innovation
Comment on Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk would like to ‘delete all IP law’ | TechCrunch
Atropos@lemmy.world 5 days agoIt’ll affect it, but it won’t stop it.
I design medical devices. IP is incredibly important in this process to protect our R&D investment. If IP didn’t exist, we’d protect that through other means like obfuscation of function.
Also if IP didn’t exist, I could design devices that are so much better at healing people. So much of what I do is restricted because someone else has 30 years left on what they patented.
R&D is expensive. Just because you see what someone else did, doesn’t mean you can easily replicate it.
In short: if your goal is pure profit, yeah removing IP probably hurts this a little. If your goal is producing the best product, then get rid of it.
JeSuisUnHombre@lemm.ee 5 days ago
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 days ago
So much of what I do is restricted because someone else has 30 years left on what they patented.
If they didn’t patent it, that technology never would have existed in the first place for you to steal from.
I think the best solution would be a much shorter exclusionary period for patents.
100% agreed on that account.
In short: if your goal is pure profit, yeah removing IP probably hurts this a little
“A little”? If there’s no IP you just pay a janitor or an employee a million bucks to send you all the information and documentation and you manufacture the product yourself and undercut the company actually engineering the product so they can never be profitable.
Like, this all seems very obvious to me…
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 5 days ago
that technology never would have existed in the first place
Oh gee, a wildly incorrect assumption
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 days ago
Oh gee, a rational contradiction supported with evidence.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 5 days ago
People made stuff before patents existed. In many cases there were certain people and groups that were soight out because they simply did things better than others who made the same things.
Knowing how someone else makes something doesn’t mean you can make it as well as the other person. Making quality goods is the same as cooking meals, the people and techniques are far more important than the designs.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days ago
That was fine before mass production made perfect copies possible on an industrial scale.
You don’t need the person when you can copy the object and produce it at volume and scale because you already own the factories.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Mass production copies are far from perfect. Like the dollar store version of anything is shit tier even if it looks the same. I’m not talking snobby high end or anything, just well made vs trash tier.
Hell, most of the goods we buy are made by a factory contracted with the person who designed and distributes the materials. That was true before we moved manufacturing overseas too. Cars were one of the few factories that were owned and operated by the companies that design and distribute the goods.
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 days ago
People made stuff before patents existed.
People also didn’t make stuff before patents existed.
Knowing how someone else makes something doesn’t mean you can make it as well as the other person.
No, but often you can. You also don’t have to, you just have to make it cheaper, which you can because you are benefitting from the investment from someone else.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 5 days ago
People also didn’t make stuff before patents existed. That’s why they exist.
What didn’t they make?
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 5 days ago
The fact we’re not all still using oldawan industry proves you false
heavydust@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
I design medical devices
I also design medical devices. You are protected from all the laws and regulations (Hello 62304!!!) that prevent companies from selling random crap to hospitals.
dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 5 days ago
Cory Doctorow has made a pretty convincing argument that in your real specifically, all designs should be open source. That way, if a company goes bankrupt or simply stops supporting a device, like (say) an implant that allows them to see, or a pacemaker, or whatever, they can pursue repairs without the help of the OEM.
dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 days ago
Open source is effectively no different than public domain in this situation. You don’t have less rights