That's true; I should have mentioned that I'm only familiar with the situation in the US. In practice, I haven't heard anyone complaining about the handling of

That's true; I should have mentioned that I'm only familiar with the situation in the US. In practice, I haven't heard anyone complaining about the handling of design patents (or any of the other types of IP that you listed). That means that they're either not a problem, or (more likely) that I don't move in the circles where it is a problem.