PDI:FAQ
From PDI
Q: What is Public Domain Ideas?
A: Public Domain Ideas (PDI) is a place where ideas and inventions can be submitted to the public domain so that anyone can use them without fear of litigation, and without having to pay licensing fees. You can think of PDI as open-source software, but for ideas rather than code. Once an idea is submitted to PDI, it immediately goes into the public domain and cannot be patented by anyone.
Q: What is the public domain?
A: The public domain refers to a body of work that is not owned or controlled by anyone. Material which is in the public domain can be used without permission or licensing fees by anyone for any purpose. Find out more about the public domain on Wikipedia.
Q: How does PDI work?
A: PDI is a wiki which means anyone can add or edit content. If you wish to contribute an idea or invention to the public domain, simply create a new page, and describe your idea in as much or as little detail as you want. You can also add detail to other people's ideas and inventions; the more detail you add, the more intellectual property (IP) goes into the public domain, and harder it is for anyone to patent and control the idea.
Q: Since PDI is a wiki, can't people just delete or change ideas, then patent them?
A: Pages are never actually deleted from a wiki, and the histories of all documents are retained. Since everything that gets posted to PDI instantly goes into the public domain, you can't removed content from the public domain just by deleting or altering it. Patent attorneys and examiners need to look through the histories of all PDI documents for prior art — not just the most current versions.
Q: Why does PDI work?
A: United States patent law states that an invention cannot be patented if it has previously been "described in a printed publication." In the USPTO's own words, "If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world, or if it was known or used by others in this country before the date that the applicant made his/her invention, a patent cannot be obtained." Since documents appearing on the internet are considered by the USPTO to be "printed material," ideas and inventions described here are explicitly placed into the public domain and cannot be patented.
Q: Does PDI prevent ideas from being patented in other countries, as well?
A: Although each country has its own patent law, according to the USPTO, "In most foreign countries, publication of the invention before the date of the application will bar the right to a patent."
Q: Who can use PDI?
A: Anyone. You don't have to be an engineer or an inventor or a big company to have a great idea. Anyone with an idea can post it to PDI, and anyone can expand on anyone else's idea. Even companies can submit ideas to PDI rather than filing defensive patents (for a description of defensive patents, see below).
Q: Why post my ideas to PDI? Can't I post them to my own site?
A: You certainly can, but posting to PDI has several distinct advantages. First, we are committed to keeping PDI online (and safely backed up) for as long as humanly possible. Second, PDI enables others to contribute to your ideas and expand on them, increasing the amount of intellectual property that goes into the public domain. And third, consolidating public domain ideas in one place makes it easier for people to find new and open ideas to implement, and for patent examiners and lawyers to find a comprehensive body of work that cannot be patented.
Q: But aren't patents good?
A: PDI does not take a position on whether patents are good or bad. We simply provide a way for anyone to place their ideas and inventions into the public domain so that those ideas cannot be patented by others. That means anyone can use any of the ideas and inventions listed on PDI for any purpose without fear of being sued, and without being forced to pay licensing fees or damages.
Q: Is everything on PDI in the public domain?
A: Everything that gets posted to PDI is instantly added to the public domain if it isn't already owned by someone else. If you want to use an idea from PDI, you should still search the United States Patent and Trademark Office's patent database, or use Google Patent Search. Even the content on PDI which is patented is valuable, however; when the community expands on the concept, anything not explicitly included in the original patent goes into the public domain and therefore cannot be patented.
Q: Why prevent ideas from being patented? Don't patents encourage innovation?
A: That was the original intent. Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution reads "The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." In the language of the patent statute itself, however, patents grant an inventor "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" an invention in the United States. In other words, patents do not grant the right to produce an invention; rather, patents grant the right to prevent others from producing an invention. The result is that patented technologies are usually never produced, and never have the opportunity to benefit mankind. And since inventors are not required to produce (or even attempt to produce) an invention in order to patent it, patents are commonly used to stifle innovation rather than promote or encourage it. Ultimately, the patent system diverts massive amounts of money away from innovation. In this video, the CEO of TomTom (makers of GPS devices) explains that in 2005, his company spent more on patent litigation than on research and development. (See our list of patent-related articles for more real-world examples.)
Q: What percentage of patented inventions are actually produced?
A: It is estimated that only 2 - 3% of patented inventions are ever produced and make it to market. An inventor is not required to produce (or even attempt to produce) an invention in order to obtain a patent which means that between 97 and 98% of all patented inventions are never actually realized. These patents are commonly used by individuals or businesses to sue others and obtain large sums of money through licensing fees and/or settlements, or they are used to prevent other individuals or businesses from openly competing and creating better or less expensive products.
Q: Aren't patents critical for capitalism to work?
A: The key component of capitalism is the free market. In the free market, competition among sellers ensures that prices remain fair and that products continually improve. When sellers use patents to control competition, the foundation of the free market is compromised. Prices are kept artificially high, and sellers have little incentive to improve their products. In fact, as in the case of monopolies, quality often decreases since consumers are deprived of the option of purchasing elsewhere.
Q: What is a "patent troll?"
A: Patent holding companies, or "patent trolls," are companies who make money by purchasing patents (usually from bankrupt firms), and suing other companies or individuals for patent infringement. Patent trolls do not conduct research and development themselves, and do not attempt to produce or market any of the technologies for which they hold patents. Their sole business model is litigation.
Q: What is a "defensive patent aggregator?"
A: Defensive patent aggregators buy up patents and purchase licenses from patent holders which they then license to subscribers for anywhere from tens of thousands, to millions of dollars, per year. A good analogy is "protection money" -- businesses pay defensive patent aggregators an annual fee so that they can innovate with a reduced risk of getting sued by patent holders. Defensive patent aggregators are becoming increasingly popular, and generate millions of dollars in revenue annually without actually producing or improving upon anything. Placing these patents into the public domain would accomplish the same level of protection for free.
Q: What is a "defensive patent?"
A: Defensive patents are patents which are not used to protect investments in research and development, but that are rather intended to strengthen a company's intellectual property holdings and to be used as bargaining chips in the event of a patent lawsuit. For instance, many companies try to patent as much intellectual property as they can, regardless of whether it relates to their business, or whether or not they plan to produce and market the patented invention. When one company sues another company for patent infringement, the company being sued will look through its portfolio of defensive patents searching for ways to counter sue for patent infringement. This process continues between the two companies, and whichever one ends up with the most viable patent infringement claims wins, often without ever going to court. A great deal of money which could be spent on research and development goes into these lawsuits to cover attorney's fees, licensing fees, and settlements.
Q: Haven't most inventions already been discovered? Are there still a lot of patent applications being filed?
A: There are about 400,000 patent applications filed in the US per year -- so many that the USPTO is several years behind in patent examinations. The huge majority of those patents are never developed, or are used solely for litigation.
Q: How can patent examiners examine so many different kinds of patents? How do they know about so many different things?
A: Although the USPTO tries to hire domain experts, they often find it difficult to hire professionals away from their specialized careers which means examiners must do their best to understand an incredibly wide range of complex fields. They typically use tools like Google Patent Search to look for existing patents and prior art in order to determine whether a concept can be patented or not. Some believe that this process results in a large number of illegitimate patents being awarded. For instance, in 2007, after Amazon collected licensing fees and damages for their famous 1-click patent, the patent office reexamined Amazon's claims and decided to reject several of them. The group Peer-to-Patent is trying to help solve this problem by building up communities of online examiners to assist the USPTO in looking for prior art.
Q: If a company is awarded an illegitimate patent, is it ok to infringe?
A: Most patent infringement cases never make it to court because it is usually much cheaper to reach a settlement then to take on the legal fees of a court battle, even when the defendant feels the plaintiff is wrong. Therefore, the validity of most patents is never tested in court.
Q: What kinds of things can be patented?
A: According to documentation on the USPTO's website, "practically everything that is made by man and the processes for making the products" can be patented.
Q: What criteria is used to determine if something can be patented?
A: The general rule is that an invention must be novel, useful, and non-obvious in order to be patented. Of course, these criteria are subjective. For example, in 1999, Amazon patented the technique of "1-click ordering" referring to the button on their site which enables customers to buy an item by clicking a single button. Amazon then sued their competitor, Barnes & Noble, for using the 1-click ordering technique on their site, and in 2000, Apple had to license this technique from Amazon for use in their online store as well as in iTunes and in iPhoto. Although 1-click ordering is clearly useful, many people do not consider it to be novel or non-obvious.
Q: Aren't patents temporary? Won't they end up in the public domain eventually anyway?
A: Utility patents expire 20 years from the date on which the patent application was filed (however pharmaceutical companies employ several tactics for getting their patents extended in order to prevent the creation of cheaper generic medications). Considering the pace at which technology evolves, it's hard to imagine that most patents have much useful life left by the time they pass into the public domain. Additionally, it's possible for companies to file closely related patents which effectively extend their legal coverage for another 20 years.
Q: Don't patents allow small companies to compete with larger, more powerful companies?
A: Obtaining a patent is a complex and time-consuming process typically handled by lawyers. Large companies often retain many attorneys dedicated to examining, obtaining, and enforcing patents whereas individuals and small companies often find that they cannot manage legal expenses of this magnitude.
Q: If I don't care about getting cheaper or better products, should I care about patents?
A: When it comes to patent abuse, there is much more at stake than just consumer products. Mankind now relies on technology for just about everything including food, shelter, healthcare, transportation, communication, education, and entertainment. In the future, our dependancy on technology will only increase as we turn to new inventions to help solve problems like renewable energy, climate change, and new forms of disease. Although it's important to provide financial incentive for innovation, we also have to realize that the technology we enjoy today is no longer optional. Without it, most of us could not survive. Our lives are increasingly dependent on patented technology which puts an unprecedented and increasing amount of power in the hands of entities whose interests are often best served by controlling the technology we all now depend on for survival.
Q: How does PDI solve some of the problems caused by patents? What are the advantages of placing ideas and inventions into the public domain?
A: PDI allows anyone to place ideas and inventions into the public domain (even big companies, should they chose to). When ideas and inventions are placed into the public domain, they cannot be patented which means they can be used by anyone without fear of litigation. Since anyone can implement a public domain idea, the company, organization, or individual who creates the best, most compelling, and most competitive implementation wins rather than whichever company holds the patent and has enough power and money to enforce it. When ideas are put into the public domain, everyone wins.
