The American patents system, and the way in which people use it, are very much in the spotlight. Should companies be able to patent the bleeding obvious? What about "squatting" on a patent, doing nothing, and then blackmailing anyone who just tries to wander into the same territory?
Anyone wanting to read yet more into the patent scene in the USA might like to check the league table for 2005. IBM is still at the top, but it filed around 10 per cent fewer patent applications than in the previous year. Generally, the rest of the table is as expected. Dominated by electronics businesses, and with Japanese concerns making up about half the top 10.
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