Comment by pembrook

Patents come from a quaint time when startup capital was non-existent.

Today, they are simply a giant anchor on the speed of innovation.

The software world has flourished with effectively very little patent protection and very lax IP enforcement.

And in the hardware world China quickly commoditizes and copies everything, regardless of US patents anyways.

The only real moats in modern capitalism come from talent, marketing, distribution, and regulation.

Patents are now just a weaponized form of regulation useful for kneecapping domestic competitors. They hurt the local economy more than helping it.