Do You Worry about Patent Infringement when Deciding on Startup Idea?
gojomo: IANAL, and this is not legal advice, but I have heard this analysis from software engineers wiser than me:Unless you have very specific expertise in the interpretation of patents, given their specialized lanaguage and all the circumstances of related law and practice, you are highly likely to misinterpret them in expensive ways.Further, if there's evidence you've knowingly infringed a patent, damages are much larger. So in some ways it's better not to seek out information about related patents, unless it is a part of your professional job description.When you're applying for your own patents, a certain amount of research about prior work and patents is necessary. But otherwise, you can wait for those with patents to inform you of their claims. That call may never come; it will typically only come if you're successful, and at that time the deep expert analysis of specific situations becomes cost-effective.(A different analysis for other engineering domains -- hardware, chemicals/materials, drugs, etc. -- may apply; this analysis most pertains to software and business methods.)Also, you mention business process patents. They might not survive in current form past the present Supreme Court session. See:http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc200...