This sounds like kind of a sarcastic comment, which it probably is, so I'll just point out that I don't think they're using patent or copyright law here to sue Google, but rather the domain of trade secret law, which SHOULD be there - not just to protect large companies, but smaller ones as well.
If I come up with a really great idea, and we're bringing it to market, then you decide you don't like me and run off to a potential competitor with larger resources to get it to market sooner (and assuming we have non-compete or NDA clauses in our mutual contract), I absolutely have a right to sue you and your new employer.
This is well established and I don't know why there is such a fuss about it - its pretty black and white issue when it comes to ethics and morals, rather than the patent/copyright issue which most certainly has its grey areas.
>This is well established and I don't know why there is such a fuss about it - its pretty black and white issue when it comes to ethics and morals [...]
I disagree, it's not a [necessary] natural conclusion based on logic axioms.
Aside from that consider this possible opposition: Patents are a contract of disclosure in return for a time-limited monopoly. I can well imagine that patents are a greater benefit to a society than industrial secrets; the knowledge is released in to the public domain and can be built on. Thus industrial secrets create a detriment, they hide knowledge that the society has spent resources on discovering (creating?).
Having briefly thought on this matter I think that forcing people to use patents to protect their IP instead of shackling inventors is probably the greater good. In any case presenting it as a done deal that needs no discussion is wrong IMO.
One could look at this from a Kantian perspective - if everyone hides their industrial/technological progress is that better or worse than everyone disclosing it?
If I come up with a really great idea, and we're bringing it to market, then you decide you don't like me and run off to a potential competitor with larger resources to get it to market sooner (and assuming we have non-compete or NDA clauses in our mutual contract), I absolutely have a right to sue you and your new employer.
This is well established and I don't know why there is such a fuss about it - its pretty black and white issue when it comes to ethics and morals, rather than the patent/copyright issue which most certainly has its grey areas.