Many systems in human societies are started for good reasons, for sound principles and for the benefit of society. As time passes by, that same system is often abused to become completely opposed to the principles it was designed to uphold.

One such case is the U.S. Patent system. Initially designed to protect the small inventor from large corporations, it has grown into something that disregards the individual inventor, and favors the corporations. For example, individual inventors working for companies are made to sign agreements ceding all rights to the corporation, in exchange for a "bonus" of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The system is prohibitive for the individual because it takes a lot of money, time and effort to get the filing right, and takes a lot more time, money and effort to defend the patent in court because legal fees are expensive, and only a corporation has the resources for a protracted fight.

This has given rise to a new form of parasites of the system, namely lawyers who do not invent, nor manufacture, nor market a patent, but just hoard those patents and sue any company who may allegedly be infringing on their patents.

One such example, is the case of RIM vs. NTP. In this Globe Technology article, the history of this case is explained. Not only is NTP an "Intellectual property" law firm, but RIM also started as a litigating bunch as well. The article is also discussed on Slashdot.

The patent system needs reform: the spirit of the law is one thing, and the letter of the law is totally another.