U.S. Patent Debate to Pit IP Rights vs. Competition

U.S. Patent Debate to Pit IP Rights vs. Competition
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department's antitrust division will conduct hearings over the next six weeks to consider whether the government is issuing too many patents and (consequently) stifling collaboration and invention. Of course, the issue isn't the number of patents so much as the substance. Defenders of the patent system downplay such concerns. More...