The Curse of Innovation
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.
The patent system is not the only curse associated with innovation. Here are six curses, some that inhibit innovation and some that stem from innovation: