Patent system is in crisis, say several vendor execs

Executives from Google, IBM and Apple, speaking this week on a panel at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit in Palo Alto, CA, had some pretty harsh words for the U.S. patent system, noting that patents are being issued for insignificant innovations and others are being issued without enough research. "The patent system, right now, is tilting out of bounds," said Chip Lutton, chief patent counsel at Apple. Meanwhile, Michelle Lee, associate general counsel and head of patents at Google, went as far as to say the system is in crisis. The panelists agreed that the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which would make it harder to get a patent and would change how courts determine its value, would be good for the industry. That Act, however, is making its way through Congress, so don't expect anything too soon.

For more on the patent system:
- see this InfoWorld article