http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20111001/00365416161/patent-troll-says-anyone-using-wifi-infringes-wont-sue-individuals-this-stage.shtml

this is an short article on what's going on with wi-fi patents right now. That he is suing for only small amounts to "force" the other companies to settle instead of hiring a lawyer and going to court demonstrates that the patent system can be used as a weapon just as copyright protection can.

I agree with you saying that patents are harder to obtain, but is that necessarily better? For creative works offering only minor variations on older copyrighted works, copyright protection likely will only extend (if it were to exist at all in the new work) to the original material in that new work, i.e., only the minor changes. Thus, the lower copyright standards don't necessarily create barriers because of the lower substantive standard. That new, minor changes are copyrighted doesn't necessarily create problems for the original creator. While a patent system might make it harder for these minor changes to be protected, that they would be protected doesn't seem to present any problems for the original creator. Maybe someone can comment on this and discuss how minor variations becoming protected can harm the original creator. Other than that, I don't know nearly enough to actually make any claims regarding which is better - copyright or patent.

-- AustinKlar - 05 Oct 2011