I wonder how frequent that is, the "We've pointless patents. And legal budget larger than your last round. Thank for playing, goodbye." It seems a reoccurring theme.
But as for the usefulness of patents to startups, at least with material-science-y hardware, I've heard possession of a defensive patent portfolio described as "table stakes" for existence, with enforceability et al being secondary.
It was interesting watching patents and unicorn dreams shape VR. Instead of years of commercial ferment exploring low-hanging niches, we wait for monoliths to eventually create maximally-hard mass-market consumer tech, and will then backfill easier niches, eventually. An industrial policy optimized for pharma, yielding pharma-shaped industries.
But as for the usefulness of patents to startups, at least with material-science-y hardware, I've heard possession of a defensive patent portfolio described as "table stakes" for existence, with enforceability et al being secondary.
It was interesting watching patents and unicorn dreams shape VR. Instead of years of commercial ferment exploring low-hanging niches, we wait for monoliths to eventually create maximally-hard mass-market consumer tech, and will then backfill easier niches, eventually. An industrial policy optimized for pharma, yielding pharma-shaped industries.