I am a? firm believer in patents, the patent process, and the women and? men? who? invest themselves in their inventing. I do not believe in patent trolls, or the tooth fairy? for that matter.

My law school teacher and impassioned protector of all things patent, Professor Kayton, convinced me that patents should be considered property, nothing more or less. If you substitute the word “house” – it is more personal if you consider it to be YOUR house,? whenever you hear the word? “patent,” you can see many ways that our current dialog about patents is silly. I hope to help point out the more silly of these arguments.

One of the silliest is casually equating a patent to a monopoly. You, as a homeowner, are not a monopolist, even though you absolutey control your house at 123 Someplace St., SomeCity, Somewhere. A patent is exactly the same, it defines a parcel of intellectual real estate that is like your house. Not a monopoly on all homes.

Stay tuned as we discuss some of these ideas on these pages.