I actually used to read patents when they came up in the news (as much as I could understand them anyway, patent English is, ironically, not the clearest langua

I actually used to read patents when they came up in the news (as much as I could understand them anyway, patent English is, ironically, not the clearest language). However having done so quite a few times with tech patents and finding them to be pathetically simple / obvious (Or unintelligible due to the cryptic patentese) I am now jaded enough that I do dismiss them. Should I? Probably not, I am sure there are a few diamonds that I have dismissed, however I am pretty confident that statistically I am not missing much. [EDIT] Just went through https://www.google.com/patents/US6037937 https://www.google.com/patents/US6037937 quickly ... it has not changed my opinion.