The Software Patent...Ahhh..'Problem'?

Software patents are raising a lot of debate. Do they inhibit innovation by intimidating developers? Do they encourage innovation by insuring that the developers have an opportunity to profit from the innovation?

Patent law, in general, is intended to encourage innovation by insuring a limited time of exclusive rights to the innovator to profit from his/her bright idea. But, certainly, they could have the effect of limiting innovation, also.

For example suppose that Mr. Ford (or Mr Stanley, or whoever) were granted a patent on the idea of putting a wheel on each corner of a rectangular frame and applying drive power to two of those wheels and turning the other two to steer. For twenty years or so, no one else would have been able to make a car or powered wagon of any sort. Pretty stifling on innovation, I should think.

I think the problem arises when :

1. a patent is granted on too wide a basis. As in the example above, if a patent is granted on the whole concept of doing something instead of a specific way of doing something, it will completely stifle innovation for the duration of the patent.

2. a patent is granted on the only possible way of doing some particular thing, at least without re-inventing a whole new set of supporting technologies. For example, if a patent were granted on the concept of checking switch states and interpreting them as instructions and/or data, then the whole digital computer industry would be hostage to that patent holder, at least until someone invented a viable analog computer system.

Perhaps the problem is inevitable when most 'innovations' are of the 'concept' type as is the case in the computer industry. Because of the constraints of the basic 'on/off' system and the complete dominance of a couple of basic equipment providers, there is often only one practical way of implementing most concepts.

I think it might be possible to sort through the problem by a combination approach. Disallow patents that are ridiculously broad, but grant patents on truly innovative solutions to specific problems with a variation similar to the requirements for maintaining a Trademark...the patent holder would be required to prove, annually, that they are indeed producing end-user product based on the patented process/concept or they lose the protection of the patent.