Wired Takes On The Smartphone Patent Thicket And How It Stifles Innovation
from the dumbpatents-and-smartphones dept
Wired Magazine has now taken on the issue, with a good article detailing the patent thicket mess in the smartphone space, and why it's a problem. There isn't much new in the story if you're a regular Techdirt reader, but it's an excellent summary of the situation and why it's a mess:
Underlying much of this litigation is a broken patent system that increasingly churns out weak patents, concomitantly strengthening the rights of those who hold them. Patents described in vague, abstract terms are the source of most infringement lawsuits as they provide more leeway for subjective interpretation. Patent examiners grant weak patents because administrative structures are overloaded and understaffed. And in an age of rapid product development, a market niche can be identified and a product manufactured, retailed and retired before a patent is even granted.The article also discusses the fact that patent litigation storms like this one had been avoided in the past when big companies came up against each other through "gentlemen's agreements" not to sue each other. But that's been flipped around a lot through a combination of non-practicing entities getting big awards, and companies arguing over who's in the stronger position for such an agreement not to sue.
The end result, though? Money that could go towards productive investment, instead is being wasted on litigation. It's exactly the opposite of what the patent system is supposed to do.