Just heard a stunning This American Life (TAL) episode about the patent wars raging in the Bay Area. Stunning on many levels.
Let me begin with an innocent tale of a cutting edge company I read about some years ago, Intellectual Ventures. The idea was to bring together varied thinkers from the tops of their fields, and convene them around a table, to discuss real problems and issues of the day. There might be an oncologist, an engineer, a physicist, a molecular biologist, a visual artist, etc. And on the agenda might be a range of topics including MS, or breast cancer, say. The neurologist might lead off with the state of science surrounding MS to date - or perhaps just a description of the demyelination process. This is then bandied about by the meeting of disparate minds - the sculptor might ask what in fact nerve tissue actually feels like, in a tactile sense, while the engineer might ask exactly by what mechanism the flow of blood into the brain is 'filtered' and prevents immune cells from gaining access in one without the disease. A discussion might ensue that opens up new directions for further research, or even for bona fide applications. Which then might be patented and sold, leading to the betterment of the condition of us all.
What a lovely idea I thought. But according to the TAL episode, Intellectual Ventures (IV) has become possibly the biggest and most powerful 'patent troll' in Silicon Valley. Very few of their own patents have come to see the light of day, and in fact the company now spends most of its resources purchasing patents from other inventors, and selling them to other companies which use the same or similar technologies. Or more often suing them. Many of these companies are hit broadside; and faced with possible ruin of their small startups, will agree to settle out of court rather than face millions in legal fees. Meanwhile, IV was started with billions of dollars of venture capital, investments which are hoping for huge returns. IV has found that being a patent troll a far more lucrative endeavor than the actual pursuit of ideas to solve problems and alleviate suffering which got them started. Of course they don't admit this, and their VEEP's and PR people claim that their efforts do even more to encourage innovation.
The investigative journalism provided by TAL, however, presents a far different conclusion, even suggesting that, to the contrary, patent troll's (especially ones 'on steroids' as IV is described), actually inhibit innovation. Amazing story, I recommend it to all. Archived TAL stories can be found at thislife.org beginning a week after airing, and listened to on-line, or pod-casted, for free.
Does IV break any laws? If not, one wonders whether the patent system in general should be reworked so that innovation is truly encouraged once again, as it may have, in days of yore.
