Google patents a lot of cool stuff, actually. But the ideas tend to not get noticed in academia; when was the last time you saw a patent in a bibliography?
The point is that patents don't appear to contribute to the sum total knowledge that academics build on top of. They're by and large intellectual dead ends, if profitable ones.
Oh I mostly agree. Some organizations will only fund you if they get IP out of it. Many significant tech in that area. But it's mostly an after the fact make money thing. Or just bullshit altogether.
