Patent enforcement has grown into a multibillion dollar shadow industry that is transforming America’s patent system from a security fence protecting inventors from exploitation into a money-minting machine for a few patent holders. Powered by a small — yet aggressive — army of lawyers, enforcers hammer companies with infringement claims, using the simple and effective power of financial threat to persuade companies to settle.
Start-up companies are slammed with suits by established companies as soon as they start to go somewhere. Patent infringement, copyright violation, and predatory hiring suits are used to thwart upstarts. The small company usually caves under the burden of litigation. I’ve been there. I still get calls from lawyers. It sucks.
Also, we have companies who don’t create a damn thing except patent infringment lawsuits in attempts to get a piece of a pie they did nothing to help create. And, of course, there are all of the frivolous patents such as the hyperlink and download patents being awarded as companies seek to retroactively patent the open infrastructure of the Internet. Such is the nature of the technology industry. Not very healthy, is it?
