“End Software Patents” Group Lanches and Sparks Debate

  • The group “End Software Patents” was born recently and asserted that (1) software patent lawsuits result in $11.26 billion in costs; (2) non-software companies are increasingly targeted for software patent infringement suits; and (3) the USPTO and the US Supreme Court [link] do not support software patentability. [Report]
  • Joff Wild of IAM questions the 11.26 billion dollar figure and asserts the underlying data on “total cost” includes both legal costs as well as costs to the business from lost market share, management distraction, etc–not simply litigation costs.
  • Ben Klemens, Executive Director of End Software Patents defends his numbers and responds to Joff here. Joff responds to Ben’s defense here.