Nanomedicine Patent Thickets Threaten Future

cheesedog writes "Over 5000 nanomedicine/nanotech patents have now been granted, and the patent land grab continues unabated. Dr. Raj Bawa says, "Patent thickets are considered to discourage and stifle innovation. Claims in such patent thickets have been characterized as often broad, overlapping and conflicting - a scenario ripe for massive patent litigation battles in the future." According to Bawa, nanomedicine start-ups may soon find themselves in patent disputes with large, established companies, as well as between themselves. In most of the patent battles the larger entity with the deeper pockets will rule the day even if the innovators are on the other side."

Comments

Re:Worse than kudzu, I tells ya

[flyingsquid]

I warned everyone that nanotech was a bad idea. Now what do we have? Nanopatents. Tiny, self-replicating patents. Soon, they will reproduce and patent everything on the planet, down to the last molecule, at which point all life on earth will drown in a sea of litigation.