It was flippant (and damned near off-topic), but it stems from my dismissive notion of the very idea of wilful infringement. What other legitimate form of infr

It was flippant (and damned near off-topic), but it stems from my dismissive notion of the very idea of wilful infringement. What other legitimate form of infringement could there be? Accidental plagarism certainly exists, but I'd imagine that a fairer punishment there would be either an injunction of sale and distribution, or a fair and reasonable licensing fee. Not being sued into oblivion for something that at most caused minimal damage. But beyond that - I imagine rare case - the vast majority of non wilful infringements are the result of the independent derivation of ideas. And I simply don't see how a patent system can justify prohibiting someone from using their own ideas - regardless of whether or not someone else had them first.