Patents at one time were a way of sharing technology while still compensating the inventors, and licenses were fairly easy to source. The majority of modern pa

Patents at one time were a way of sharing technology while still compensating the inventors, and licenses were fairly easy to source. The majority of modern patents are the equivalent of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), and if you want rounded corners on a phone that will be $23m + 7% of retail sales. This is why some people have gadgets from 10 years in the future, and others get toys from 17 years in the past. Ask yourself who has a spare $140k to file global patent these days... the list has shrunk. =3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_exclusion_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_exclusion_principl...