General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Remember all those posts on DU promoting genetic testing? [View all]Ms. Toad
(34,062 posts)When you patent an invention you are essentially trading a brief monopoly for telling the world exactly how to make your invention. If, during that brief monopoly, someone else makes or sells your invention, you have the right to stop them. Whether the infringer could have made your invention without knowledge from you is entirely irrelevant (since making that knowledge available for the entire world to see is the price you pay for a brief monopoly).
You'd be easy pickins for any of the invention companies that charge an arm and a leg and obtain a useless patent. It's far easier to obtain a patent on "certain combinations of ingredients in specific ratios" than less specific invention - because no patent attorney worth her salt would ever limit the application to such a narrow invention (meaning you are less likely to find prior art for a very narro invention that would prevent patenting). It also makes the patent worthless, since all anyone has to do to avoid your patent is to read your patent (which is public information - the price of patenting it) and make small non-obvious change to it.
#cuereplayofinitialpatentconultationwithgazillioninventors