>> And secrecy is a patent that potentially never expires.
Do you seriously believe, no one else can come up same/similar functionality/product? I would like a system where they keep the patent secret(nothing is published) for 5 years, and if in 5 years no one comes up with same/similar idea, patent is granted for next 10 years (rather than current 20 years from filing), otherwise patent is not granted. My guess is 99% of software patents will go away.
That would slow innovation to a standstill.. After you invent something, you couldn't use it for 5 years. Everyone would be even more secretive and it would favour big companies who could afford to 1) sit on ideas for 5 years 2) register as many patents as possible.
Do you seriously believe, no one else can come up same/similar functionality/product? I would like a system where they keep the patent secret(nothing is published) for 5 years, and if in 5 years no one comes up with same/similar idea, patent is granted for next 10 years (rather than current 20 years from filing), otherwise patent is not granted. My guess is 99% of software patents will go away.