There's a Bounty on Your Head MIT Technology Review . The Web connects us to endless information, but sometimes the most valuable stuff remains locked away in desk drawers, filing cabinets, and the brains of ordinary humans. That's the premise behind BountyQuest, a Web site that offers bounties for evidence that settles intellectual property disputes BountyQuest Awards First Four Prizes Boston Globe . BountyQuest calls itself an information marketplace where companies can post cash awards for people who can find specific information to help resolve patent controversies. The offer is the first photonics bounty on BountyQuest Corp.'s Internet Service that matches people and companies who can pay for information with people who know something.
Patents can be as valuable as gold for many high-tech companies.
They can cause ugly fights between competitors. Launched on Wednesday, BountyQuest aims to quell the raging debate over the validity of Internet business method patents by becoming a one-stop shop for prior art information exchange. Cella was eager to sit down with Salon to explain the site in more detail. One of the first bounties posted came from Mr. O'Reilly. BountyQuest Corp. All rights reserved.