Alfred Reading

UK

retired

Richard Gallafent is right about patents for bright inventive ideas but that is only a small part of the real world of computing patents where implementation of these ideas is also patented. This means that techniques that a sensible person would use in normal programming to produce their own ideas have been patented (especially in USA) and so without intent they become open to being sued. They are not financially able to challenge these 'fake' patents and so the little guy with the bright inventive idea cannot exploit it.