The history of patents in the USA is synominis with names like Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Albert Einstein, and Bill Gates. Because with each invention and innovation that was thought up of, there was the need for a patent.

Among the many things that factored into becoming the great nation we are is innovation. We have throughout our history found a way to keep speeding ahead with new technology that bettered the lives of Americans and others across the globe.

And in this modern age we continue to look for that “next step” that would continue to elevate us to the next level. Yet, there is one, minor, practice that has both the potential to hinder innovation and leave a scar in our history.

The term, “patent troll” refers to a company that buys and uses patents for the sole purpose of bringing other businesses to court for patent infringement. Besides the unethical method of “business” they are using to gain wealth, is that this type of practice hinders innovation.

The institution of patents and licensing in our nation follows some of our basic principles and beliefs that each man has a right to his property. We can think of patents as the holding of one’s “intellectual” property.

And with a patent an individual has the freedom to pursue their invention with the peace of knowing that it is protected from theft. But, what’s more, is that this encourages the creation of technology. What we find with these patent trolls is an abuse of the system.

As they utilize they protection of held patents to earn royalties and compensation, they sit back with their profit without any purpose or plan to follow through to create or build their invention. That’s right, not only do they not make the patent into a realization, but they punish other businesses that have.

When we observe the things that have come out of the excellence of work of some men in history, it is so sad to see what some individuals are doing to hinder that from going on.