It is the new Technology methodology.. Create something new and innovative, rest on your laurels in your little niche or sue the competition back to the stone age.
My first run in with this mentality was working for a company that developed PCI Bus Expansions.. Developed a cardbus system and guess what? Someone had a patent for any box with a connector at either end to connect two devices together. Seriously. So the cardbus interface (PCMCIA to some out there) required a license and royalties per each unit. They did not design anything we used.. not even the box dimensions.. from Cardbus to a shoebox in size, it all counted.. now how STUPID is the patent system? (no need to answer, that was rhetorical.)
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