Small Inventors Are Being Squeezed by a Convoluted Patent Process

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This article deliberates about the venue of patent litigation. But even if you settle upon and ideal venue, there are deeper structural problems with patents. US patent law is unenforceable against the world’s largest manufacturer, China, which boldly copies patented IP with impunity. US patent law enables non-practicing entities (NPEs) to hold third parties liable for damages. If you bought toilet paper manufactured on a machine that infringes a patent, you can be sued for wiping your own ass. NPEs have successfully extracted millions from small businesses whose only crime was listing an app in the Play Store using a Google API, or using TLS to protect credit card information in flight —- obvious ideas that possibly technically infringed a US patent. Patents are thought to protect small inventors but filing fees are exorbitant and as per the article, large corporations can easily steal ideas while tying inventors up in court. Since patent laws enable trolls to decrease our GDP while trade secrets offer they only true protection against the biggest threats, arguing about the venue where we litigate farcical claims misses the point. We should just suspend the patent system until the rest of the manufacturing globe is on board.