> so they could write "patent pending" and attach the veneer of innovation on the marketing material There's another reason too: Having a large number of pate

> so they could write "patent pending" and attach the veneer of innovation on the marketing material There's another reason too: Having a large number of patents for a given subject matter makes it a veritable arsenal for use against other companies, either offensively or defensively (since a common defense to a lawsuit of patent infringement is a countersuit with your own parent infringement lawsuit). Gotta feed the dancing gorilla