Re: poly: Idea Futures, some questions

Nick B. wrote on 6/9/98:
>As I said, if someone copies all the ideas in a patent application
>(e.g. a mechanism that would give workable cold fusion), than it will
>be much easier to prove that theft has taken place than if you just
>steal one bit of information ("Cold fusion doesn't work")

I find it hard to believe that this sort of threat is actually a
substantial componenet of current deterrence to stealing patentable
ideas. But it turned out to be crucial, one could consider requiring
idea futures market participants to similarly have detailed documentation
of their reasoning for making the trades they do.

Robin Hanson
hanson@econ.berkeley.edu http://hanson.berkeley.edu/
RWJF Health Policy Scholar, Sch. of Public Health 510-643-1884
140 Warren Hall, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 FAX: 510-643-2627
Received on Tue Jun 23 19:16:33 1998