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Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?, Ronald J. Mann
Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?, Ronald J. Mann
Faculty Scholarship
This Article is the first part of a wide study of the role of intellectual property in the software industry. Unlike previous papers that focus primarily on software patents – which generally are held by firms that are not software firms – this Article provides a thorough and contextually grounded description of the role that patents play in the software industry itself.
The bulk of the Article considers the pros and cons of patents in the software industry. The Article starts by emphasizing the difficulties that prerevenue startups face in obtaining any value from patents. Litigation to enforce patents is …