Comment by sam_goody

The real issue is that we allow patents at all.

Given the lopsided cost that courts bring to the table, patents only help the big players- since only they canafford to play.

I invented something I ttruly think could change the world. Went to a patent attorney. He said basically - create a patent, wait till someone unsuspectingly builds a product with the same basic idea, and then sue the pans off them. If you try to develop it yourself, the patent will not help - the chinese will copy it and laugh, and the americans will copy it, modify it, and then sue you because they can push more patents than you can defend yourself against. In the best case, they may offer to settle for a small fee if you give them all your IP for free...

I have yet to see anything good from patents, but over the years I have seen just how much they prevent anything new from coming to the world.