patent system

At the Stanford Summit in Palo Alto, California, IT heavyweights such as Google and Apple discussed the U.S. patent system -- and not everyone was thrilled with the its current state. Google's head of patents, Michelle Lee, described the U.S. patent ... system as being "in crisis." She explained that there are too many businesses that use patents mostly as a means of making money. These businesses, called trolls, have proven profitable for many tech companies, but the large number of patents is backing up the system. "The Patent Office is overburdened," she said. "The volume of patents going in ... (view more)