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Patents don't exist to encourage companies to innovate -- they exist to encourage companies to share information about their innovations.

I think you're exactly right that the western world would continue to innovate without patents. I think what you're missing is that the rent-seeking would continue as normal, simply by using trade secrets, obfuscation, services-models, etc.

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But that's fine. I would prefer having the specs - that helps a lot in writing high quality drivers. That said, open source relied a lot on reverse-engineering in the past - not to mention that reverse-engineering is much easier these days. But not being able to e.g. merge a driver into the Linux Kernel because of a software patent is an actual, real blocker. Same thing with patent-encumbered codecs.

Patents was supposed to be a tool to enable competition, but does the reverse now - and it is holding as back as society. We should move away from it. Especially and specifically when it comes to vague, loose ideas just like the GP post says here.

But companies can already do that. So presumably patents are more effective at preventing competition?

Of course, the existence of patents does not force everyone to use patents. But without them, those who would have used a patent would be forced to resort to secrets to protect their ideas.

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