A Call to Arms!

It is about time someone with more heft and readership than I have said it. I recommend everyone read this.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-rid-of-patent-trolls-for-good-2011-8

Good for Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry!

As a quick example: it is pretty clear that a large part of Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12.5BN is for their patent portfolio. Google could easily invent anything relevant to their current and future needs; but you cannot create the legal protection - protection money? - that the portfolio gives. Even Icahn, who has been pushing Motorola to do a better job of managing its patent portfolio, indicated that he is reasonably satisfied, and that they got a good but reasonable price (IIRC) for the patents.

Google has a ton of money, but it is out and out absurd for them to spend even half of that $12.5BN just to get arms for legal warfare! I know that Congress is populated with attorneys, and to them fixing the patent issue is anathema as it reduces the amount of employment for lawyers - the Bar Association is simply a trade union for attorneys - but we need to change this, and now.

Kudos to Pascal-Emmanuel. To the barricades!