A not-so-overly-alarmist reminder of how monopolies are taking over society using self-serving laws and establishments, including the patent office

"Excluding computer software from the Patents Bill is a mistake and will stifle innovation", says Chapman Tripp Partner Matt Sumpter. "I'm astonished that the Commerce Committee is recommending this change and hope that the Government will reconsider because the arguments against it are very strong", he said.

The Obama rule against software patents; studies suggest intellectual monopolies are harmful

Yet another piece of academic research shows the obvious - that intellectual monopolies serve in obstructing competition

One of the enduring soap operas this year has involved the ongoing patent infringement threats by Microsoft against “Linux, OpenOffice, email, and other open source software.” According to Microsoft, 235 of its (unnamed) patents are being infringed, and it should be entitled to be paid for this use of its intellectual property.

The heartwarming story of Ecuador, the political opposition to software patents in New Zealand, and areas where patents stomp on people's lives

The so-called reform, which was proposed as an Easy Fix™ to be applied to the USPTO, has always been rather impotent. It kept the problems in tact where intellectual monopolies could benefit and perhaps harmed some of the smaller players, including the patent trolls

A defense of software patents backfires in the eyes of some; more news about the harms of intellectual monopolies

In 2004, Brandeis economist Adam Jaffe and Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner published Innovation and its Discontents: How Our Broken Patent System is Endangering Innovation and Progress, and What to Do About It - a rare book on patents and written for generalists, not patent lawyers. "Broken" is strong language, but it gets attention.