I agree. The basis for the plaintiff's suit no doubt consists of rarefied lawyerese, and the plaintiff has probably added no value to the world. But they get many millions. How has the property law been allowed to tie itself up into this knot?
Yes, I think they got millions for doing nothing is one of the problems. Probably, you should only have right to defend your patent if you're actually using it. Like that's part of your business. And if you don't use it for couple of years, patent goes to public domain.
I think even in the case that the invention is actually being used, patents may not be justified. I mean, suppose Google owned the patent they just got sued on. Would it make sense for them to have the power to freeze other people out of the market, when operating in the market without any statutory monopoly powers is already spectacularly profitable for them?
