I’ve discovered an article warning about the patent bubble back in 2005. The article quotes an even earlier question raised by Alan Greenspan, at the time chairman of the Federal Reserve raised the question in a speech at Stanford University in February 2004: “Are [patent] protections so vague that they produce uncertainties that raise risk premiums and the cost of capital?”
Another question might be “are patent claims so vague that there is a substantial risk that many are valueless?”
Yet another is; does the current patent system create massive, unsecured risks which could threaten not only individual corporations but an the entire system?
And yet another question: if a large number, or indeed entire categories of patents are invalid, then what will the systemic impact of discovering this be on corporations which show patents as “assets” on their balance sheets, while leaving potential liability for patent infringement off?
