Patents hurt private businesses, they’re too costly
Caldwell 22 Erin Caldwell is corporate counsel at Microsoft. She advises on all manner of technology law and does not bill hours 12/12/2022 https://wabarnews.org/2022/12/12/how-the-u-s-patent-system-fails-small-businesses/#:~:text=A%20U.S.%20patent%20grants%20the,cost%20of%20obtaining%20a%20patent. Accessed 6/29/24 NHS BG
Fundamentally, state-backed protection of intellectual property serves an important function in encouraging innovation by protecting ROI. A U.S. patent grants the holder a right to exclude others from practicing—i.e., making, using, selling, or importing—the patented invention within the country. But the inefficiencies, lack of rigor, and hefty fees in the U.S. patent system cut against the value of patents. For small businesses with limited resources, these obstacles hit especially hard. For example, while the cost of filing a patent application is fairly predictable, it is almost impossible to forecast the total cost of obtaining a patent. The reason is that even the most seasoned lawyers cannot foresee how many rounds of rejections an application will face before it is allowed.