Michael Kay

Reading, UK

Software Engineer

As an independent and innovative software developer, patents are the biggest threat to my livelihood. There is no way I can affort to patent my work or to sue infringers, and there is no way I can check the thousands of existing US patents to see if any line of code I write might infringe them. Existing US patents are drawn up so broadly that it's impossible to move without infringing them, and if I become too much of a threat to someone like Microsoft, they can drive me out of business simply by threatening to sue. The people who think patents will encourage innovation and competition need their heads examining.