Overburdening: whose fault is it?

Acacia was last mentioned only half a day ago. It has been been keeping very, very busy.

A subsidiary of Acacia Research Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corp. have settled a lawsuit alleging that Sprint Nextel had infringed on patents for technology used to display mobile vehicle information on maps.

Patent trolls like Acacia aside, patents in general appear to have grown too prolific. It is a matter of quantity nowadays, never mind the quality of so-called 'inventions' like the "JPEG on a Web page". IBM is adding to that big pile. It is making the patent maze even more complex.

Patently busy: IBM filing 10 patents/day in technology

A recent article in Spectrum, the online magazine of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), rated companies in nine categories (Aerospace and Defense, Computer Peripherals and Storage, Computer Systems and Software, Electronics, Medical Equipment, Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Telecom Equipment, and Telecom Services) by the number and strength of patents that they received over the last year for which there was complete data, 2006.

It is worth asking ourselves how much those 10 patents/day actually contribute to science and technology. Patents have their share of harms because they prevent good products from being built without serious complications. IBM, how about helping the establishment of a reform rather than fighting fire with fire? ⬆

Related article:

When Patents Threaten Science

Patents should not be used to protect laws of nature, products of nature, or mathematical formulas.