The patent system was created to spur on innovation. But over recent years it has sparked an arms war between some of the world's leading mobile phone companies. The likes of Apple and Microsoft do not only sue their rivals to protect their own inventions, but go on to buy third party patents to build up their weapon stockpile. What is more, they appear increasingly willing to litigate. The number of handset patent infringement filings to the US courts grew from 24 cases in 2006, to 84 cases in 2010, according to Lex Machina, an intellectual property litigation data provider. It expects that number to grow to 97 cases this year, reflecting more than a four-fold rise in the space of half a decade.
The US patent system offers inventors a limited monopoly on new ideas lasting twenty years from when they are filed. However, mobile phone users expect giant leaps in progress over a much shorter time span.
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