The Financial Times featured an article last week calling the patent system the curse of innovation. Patents have become weapons of mass destruction in certain industries, most recently in the smartphone category.
"Escalating courtroom battles over intellectual property – whether evidence of an efficient market in ideas or a sign of a broken patent system – are placing a mounting burden on the (technology) sector…In smartphones alone, an estimated $15 to $20 billion has been spent buying patents for both defensive and offensive strategies. Legal bills are conservatively estimated at $500 million."
This "colossal squander" is spreading to stable industries like food, autos, and mining. All face dramatic increases in patent lawsuits.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Innovation in Practice: The Curse of Innovation
