The New York Times' excellent iEconomy series wrapped up this morning with a look into the current patent wars going on between Apple and other technology companies. A close read reveals several disconcerting facts: over $20 billion was spent on patent litigation and acquisition in 2011, which a hefty chunk of money. Also, in 2011, Google and Apple spent more on patents than on research and development. If there was ever a statistic that backs up the “patents are hindering creativity” argument, you've got it.
Of course, that individual statistic takes into account Google's patent-motivated $12 billion purchase of Motorola.
Ubergizmo , Apple and Google spent more on patents than R&D in 2011, Apple and Google spent more on patents than R&D in 2011
