
How ‘Hoverboards’ Epitomize Our Broken Patent System - reverend_gonzo
http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-hoverboards-epitomize-our-broken-patent-system-1450674060
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venning
Article has nothing to do with a "broken" patent system. The author is just
relating a few, not-really-connected anecdotes.

Inventor patents device. Cheap knockoffs with production issues flood nascent
market. Inventor licenses patent to company with more resources. Owners of
another device resolve patent dispute by selling rights to another
manufacturer. Author guesses that they will enter market too.

Where's the broken patent system here? Even if the US patent system is broken,
this article does nothing to address it or even point it out.

The author mentions Xiaomi above the fold and notes how surprising it is that
they are involved. Except that they are barely involved at this point. He only
mentions them because they are Chinese and he tries to contrast the US and
Chinese patent systems later.

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serge2k
Can we quit calling these hoverboards?

