Patents and patents...

Back in the 80's, if I remember correctly, there was a big war between Pepsi and Coke. I remember hearing someone argue that the end result wasn't that Pepsi or that Coke won, but it was that all the smaller vendors lost.

These patent wars are quite astounding. Let me preface my comments with the following information: I have helped some of my employers to file patents so I might be biased. Anyways, it's really hard to see who is really benefiting from all this. On one end, I can see the usefulness of patents. They do encourage research because they give an incentive to the person or entity doing the research that theire is something to be gained in taking those risks. On the other end, I can see how they can be used to threaten innovation and advancement.

For that matter, this is a bit like DRM. On one end, it can be used to encourage investment, on the other in can be used to stiffle creativity.

So I'm not sure what to think of the NTP v. RIM debate. While it's interesting to see who won between the two, what I really wonder is, did smaller players lose? RIM will survive this fight, but there definitely could be smaller players that won't take the risk of becoming a casualty in these patent wars.