Why Concept Patents Should Never Exist

For some background reading on the argument surrounding concept and software patents, go read through Arstechnica's Law & Disorder. Actually, this google search will return some more relevant results.

It's not that I think people should not be rewarded for their ideas, it's just that these concept patents tend to inhibit creativity. This one is a great example: Sony patent on any-object motion control. Right now, no one has produced a working example, but the basic concept is fairly obvious: Use a camera to detect an object and track its motion. Many people have been researching in this area for quite some time, and Sony's "patent" should be offensive to anyone who has put any effort toward researching object recognition. Why? Because, if approved, it means that many of their prior efforts could be subject to future litigation. The continuation of their efforts now sits under the threat of litigation. All the while, there is no evidence that Sony has produced a working model; only filed a concept patent. The real work lies ahead, in producing a working object detection and movement capture system. In fact, this has always been the real work. Now, anyone interested in actually solving the damn problem has to do so with the spectre of patent litigation looming overhead. This means less creativity, less people and resources dedicated to bringing such a device to market. Only Sony (or a competitor who can purchase prior art from a researcher and some good lawyers) dares to build such a device now.

These patents should be removed from our legal system, stat.