Intellectual Property rights run amok
It seems that litigation related to intellectual property (IP) is increasing at an accelerating pace. Patent and copyrights are of course vital for companies to innovate and to succeed but it seems that the systems and regulations meant to protect content creators and innovators are being manipulated.
This article by Bloomberg cites several examples of what has been an obvious trend:
- Patents awarded for general concepts (especially in software and genomics)
- Weak IP being bought, traded and leveraged to impede competitors
- Opportunists using the system to profit from others’ innovation
- Rights being granted for things that no individual or company should be allowed to own
- Exploitation and manipulation to stifle innovation and protect dying business models (MPAA & RIAA come to mind)
I wrote this satirical post on this same topic several years ago. Seems that these issues are not going away any time soon!
