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Comment by pgroves | Hacker News Reader

Does anyone know which places with relatively developed economies have the weakest IP laws? I would guess Hong Kong, Singapore, or China but I don't really know.

I've been working on a rather ambitious piece of software and I'm definitely worried that I'll get sued into oblivion over some minor user interface feature before I ever really make any money off it. I've lived all my life in the U.S. but would entertain the idea of leaving.

In fact if I'm going to leave my home town I feel like I might as well go someplace more exotic than Silicon Valley or New York. IP laws and other business concerns would definitely be an important criteria if I got serious about it.

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Oh don't leave. For one thing, you won't be able to sell in to the US regardless of where you live. Patents allow them to block imports as well as sue your customers directly. Secondly, you're not likely to find a particularly level playing field if you, as a Westerner, are trying to compete in Asia.

Great points, but I'd like to hear a second opinion. Anyone tried this? Some of the most innovative stuff is happening in some of the most lawless places almost by definition. I've had the inclination to try some of my personal projects outside the country on several occasions.

If its a minor UI feature, you can just change it. And if you haven't made any money off of it then they will not get much in damages.

The big worry is if you'd made tons of money off of it or if it is a big part of your program.

And the way patent litigation typically works in the US it will be small companies suing large companies. So you can sue Google or MS for using your great idea. Rarely will they sue you. You generally need to be on their radar for this to happen, which usually means being a threat to one of their businesses.

At this point, moving anywhere over this is crazy premature.

I disagree that it's only big companies you need to worry about. There was recently a thread here on HN[1] about an open source flight plan project shutting down after being threatened by legal action from a small company that provided a similar service (and had some patents around it).

But regardless of the specific probabilities of any one startup getting sued, I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way.

It's like a landmine in the middle of a football field. I probably won't be the one who loses a leg but it's enough of a threat to think about seeing if there's a better field to play on.

[1]http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2007899

I still have a problem with a system where the government will harass you into bankruptcy on behalf of an incumbent corporation if that corporation decides they want you out of the way.

This will happen to you in any country in the world. Money runs governments. If there's an influential company (and your not) that wants you out of the game, you have a tough road ahead anywhere.

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