Helping out "small time inventors" is the convenient, reasonable explanation for patents. It's pure PR. In reality, patents benefit large players far more than

Helping out "small time inventors" is the convenient, reasonable explanation for patents. It's pure PR. In reality, patents benefit large players far more than small ones. It's just even more reinforcement of the status quo. Make no mistake--it was designed that way from the outset, much like all structures of systemic power. People say patents just need to be reformed, but I think it's a hopelessly outdated system. It's a relic. It's not the nineteenth century anymore. To say we just need to review patents more carefully and only grant them to deserving and truly novel ideas is naive. The span of fields of specialization is far too wide--who would pay for such an army of specialized patent clerks for every branch of technology? How would you prevent regulatory capture when only the industry they regulate has that kind of expertise? How do you prevent bribery and corruption? It's impossible. We have a terrible patent review system because that is the reality of patent review.