It's a Jungle Out There

We have laws and rules to keep us safe as a society. It seems a shame, then, when people chiefly interested in money use these laws to their own advantage. NPR did an amazing piece about "patent trolling", when a company exists solely to make money off of licensing fees and litigation of patents. The system the founding fathers designed to protect ideas went wrong when people started going after money, rather than some higher purpose; yet the company called Intellectual Ventures in the NPR article kept repeating that its main purpose was to get money back into the hands of inventors. I am reminded of a video describing the science of what motivates us. It talks about companies that exist solely to make money, the company fails to make good products. If IV had really pursued the purpose of giving inventors with languishing patents a chance to realize the potential of their ideas, instead of getting money into the right hands, then both the company and Silicon Valley as a whole would benefit.