Well, it happens that I have being reading about this subject lately, and sometimes I do agree, sometimes I don’t.

Although being expensive and time consuming, patents do give its owner a reasonable advantage over competitors avoiding them from stealing the idea. Ok, I agree that it doesn’t always avoid that. Sometimes, enforcing a software patent isn’t that easy, and if they steal your idea early, then they may gain a huge advantage over you before you even get you patent aproved.

It takes something between 5 to 6 years to get a software patent aproved. That’s just about the life time of most technologies!

If your technology is good enough to strive through and live longer than that, you probably managed to gain the biggest piece in the market share. Then, would you really need a software patent to enforce competitors?

It happens that there is no easy answer to this. It is very hard to predict the future, and patents are assets. If you’re more conservative, then patents will certainly bring you some peace of mind. If you’re the type that doesn’t fear competitors and trust in your bat, then patents may be a waste of time and money.

But never forget: patents are assets. Though you may never use it, whenever you need it you’ll have it.

And no, I’m not going to start working as an IP lawyer or consultant, in case you’re wondering I’m being biased. It simply happens that I have a special interest on this matter.

What do you think? Is it worth investing on patents, or is it better to use that money and time trying to overcome competition?

John Cleese mainly talked about ways of leting and insentivating your creativity come out from your unconscious. Not a surprise to most of us, interrupting the cognitive process can be a disaster as he said. I believe that, and always tried to find a calm and quiet place to let my ideas flow. But that is nice when we’re under control of the situation and we can manage to set a good slot of time in a peaceful place to let our neurones work as they like. But, how to produce such an environment inside a company? How to let your employee in charge of creating their creative environment in which they can feed their minds with what they need to come out with innovation? Is it good or is it bad for your company?

That is hard to say. A later speaker, author of the book My Company is a Jungle, claimed that culture is vital inside a company. If your company doesn’t have an inner culture, you’re going out of wings. Maybe, that could relate our former need: How to let our employees in charge of creating their perfect creative environment and not mess up with your company? Maybe, setting a culture could be the answer.

Yeah, that’s not something new or ground breaking. We hear all the time people saying about companies trying to set a creative culture, and you shouldn’t take more than 1 second to remind the name of a couple of them.

What are the other companies missing then? Is that fear which motivates then to keep thenselves in the age of iron when it comes to creating a culture inside a company? Is the fear caused because it is expensive to afford such a freedom to their employees?

We clearly see the benefits of providing time and a good environment for criativity, so why do we keep pushing and pressing people to keep in track of deadlines, and do more things in less time? We are so used to this culture, of pushing and pressing and delivering things in very tight deadlines, that we feel afraid of trying the disruptive aproach of not having a deadline and not pushing things arround.

So, from were I can see, things must change both internally and externally, and as Jef Staes said: it must start from the edge.