The patent system achieves its goal of protecting the investments that go into the creation of certain technologies. However, there are some problems that have come up in the last few years.
- The patent office is overwhelmed with so many patent applications because companies are increasingly filing patents on just about everything. The reason is that they have to build a defensive patent portfolio just in case someone sues them. This costs companies millions to file and maintain many inventions that would not otherwise be patented purely for defensive reasons.
- On the other side of the coin are “patent trolls” A patent troll is a derogatory term referring to as an individual or organization that acquires patents solely for the purpose of extracting royalties from companies that might be using their patents. Wikipedia has a good definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll. Traditionally companies file patents to prevent other companies from using their inventions in their products or services for the life of the patent. There is a general belief that the patent troll practice (usually executed by contingency lawyers) is simply stifling innovation in the industry.
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