Sep 02, 2011---Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt Opinions about the Patent System

Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt Opinions about the Patent System

•Schmidt suggested that the problem with the current patent system is that; in the early 90s and 2000s there were a lot of patents issued that were very broad, and that patent clerks are now spending a lot of time combing through and invalidating these older patents. Schmidt's suggest that the best way to address the problem is to take the patents as they're published and crowdsource them. Further Schmidt states that "the best way to potentially curb these patent wars, then, would be to publish the patents publicly and allow everyone to comment to see if there's any prior art." Schmidt is worried that "overbroad patents will somehow slow" the progress of the software industry down. [Link]

http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2011/09/patently-o-bits-bytes-by-lawrence-higgins.html