The basic idea of patents is clear enough. The details of the way the institutions work and the peculiarities of the precedents handed down by various courts,

The basic idea of patents is clear enough. The details of the way the institutions work and the peculiarities of the precedents handed down by various courts, have provided me with many surprises. For instance, I understand that CAFC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has been handing down decisions based on an interpretation of a crucial test in patent law that a concurring opinion to a majority SCOTUS ruling has said is not supported. Apparently, the system as it stands is not so much unjust as incoherent.