Patents have been part of American life since the country was born—they were written into the constitution to legally protect and encourage innovation, creativity, and productivity. But today, patents are used by shadowy companies that make nothing more than profits—and the threat of lawsuits from these companies is enough to keep people from creating high-tech products, companies, and jobs. This episode of This American Life shines a bright light on the broken intellectual property legal system by telling the stories of people whose lives have been profoundly impacted by that system.
thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/496/when-patents-attack-part-two
Tag: patents
Patents were originally designed to encourage creativity, but in the digital world they may be having the opposite effect. This engaging episode of public radio’s This American Life takes us inside the trenches of the intellectual property wars.