How The US Patent System Crushes Innovation
Forbes Magazine recently interviewed Michael Meurer and James Besson, authors of Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk, a massive study on the costs and benefits of holding patents. Their chilling conclusion:
Sphere: Related ContentMeurer and Bessen concluded that in every industry, except pharmaceuticals and biotech, publicly traded companies spend more money litigating to protect existing patents and paying fees to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office than they earn from the same patents. (Bessen and Meurer evaluated patents issued by all publicly traded companies between 1984 and 1999.)
7 Things Innovators Do That You Don’t

What prevents you from being a great innovator? Not much. Innovators by and large aren’t creative geniuses gifted with da Vinci-like talent. It’s not what they ARE - it’s what they DO. They do these seven things you most likely do not.
Sphere: Related ContentThree Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part II
Table of contents for State of Innovation
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part I
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part II
In our first installment, the Boston Consultancy Group identified innovation trends via a survey of over 2400 senior level executives. In this installment, Booz-Allen-Hamilton studies the world’s largest R&D investors to determine what innovation strategies succeed.
Sphere: Related ContentThree Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part I
Table of contents for State of Innovation
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part I
- Three Amazing Reports On The State Of Innovation - Part II
In December, three international consultants published the results of their research on the current state of innovation. This four-part series will cover each in turn, then I’ll add a conclusion that ties them together. First on the block - Innovation 2007 from the Boston Consultancy Group.
Sphere: Related ContentUnlimited Free Broadband Downloads!!
That sounds a lot better than “Up to 17 hours of broadband downloads per month!” And when you can do it for the same price, you’ve entered The Long Tail. That’s what Netflix has discovered.
Sphere: Related ContentThe End Of Tesla Motors??
Tesla Motors. Everyone has been writing and posting nothing but glowing, positive articles about the present, and future, of this maverick automotive company. So naturally I’m a little shocked to relay this information:
Sphere: Related ContentGuerilla Product Placement

I’ve been thinking about product placement ever since I saw “Transformers” a few months ago. I loved the way they took product placement to the next level.
I mean, sure, they had plenty of traditional product placement, like the actors using this product or that. But the main gimmick, of course, was the use of General Motors vehicles for the ‘good guy’ Transformers.
Sphere: Related ContentRadiohead’s Publicity Stunt - Innovation or Deception?
This month’s Wired Magazine features a David Byrne interview with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke to discuss Radiohead’s wildly successful ‘free’ downloading stunt.
Since others insist on keeping this topic fresh, I’ll continue providing the counterpoint. Is Radiohead responsible for innovating the music industry business model, or merely deceiving gullible fans?
Sphere: Related Content7 Christmas Gift Ideas For Your Favorite Innovator
Software, games and books - here’s seven ideal gifts for the innovator on your shopping lists.
Making Money By Giving Stuff Away For Free
Have you ever considered what you can get for practically free today that you used to pay a lot of money for?
- Computer Performance
- Long Distance Telephone Calls
- Computer Storage
- Bandwidth
- Music
- Web Server Space
- Domain Names
What’s been the impact of the value of these commodities becoming almost “too cheap to meter?” It’s opened up opportunities in other areas, to sell new services and innovate new business models. And it’s taken innovation out of the hands of invisible ‘gatekeepers’ and into the hands of the people.
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