"This is precisely what patents are designed to do: create monopolies." That's half of what monopolies are supposed to do, in my layman's observation of the fi

"This is precisely what patents are designed to do: create monopolies." That's half of what monopolies are supposed to do, in my layman's observation of the field (i.e. everything I know I learned on HN). The other half is to encourage the dissemination of innovation to the benefit of society. What we have now is the first half, the monopoly. The second half is disappearing, replaced by patent holders preventing innovation from moving through society, and removing the use of what was once obvious from society.