It's nice to see some articles pointing out that the way patents work, especially in regard to software, is badly broken. The widespread uncritical presumption in favor of patent protection among educated people is the biggest barrier to reform. The Times is doing its part to make reform possible.
Of course, the specific details of the article don't have to be right to accomplish the goal. Awareness of a perverse system will lead bureaucrats and judges to be open minded to reform whether the facts in the article are right or not.
It's worth mentioning, though, that Mike Phillips worked for Nuance, the company that sued and destroyed his company, as CTO for years and years. He left to do university research and later started a new company. Then, Nuance sued his new company knowing they could force him to give up or come back by suffocating him with litigation costs. It wasn't a simple matter of shutting down an upstart competitor as it was portrayed.
Of course, the specific details of the article don't have to be right to accomplish the goal. Awareness of a perverse system will lead bureaucrats and judges to be open minded to reform whether the facts in the article are right or not.
It's worth mentioning, though, that Mike Phillips worked for Nuance, the company that sued and destroyed his company, as CTO for years and years. He left to do university research and later started a new company. Then, Nuance sued his new company knowing they could force him to give up or come back by suffocating him with litigation costs. It wasn't a simple matter of shutting down an upstart competitor as it was portrayed.