How an F Student Became America’s Most Prolific Inventor

Fascinating article. The thing that upset me is that the guy works for Intellectual Ventures, which is more patent troll than anything else.

Finally toward the end the article does acknowledge this:

At its best, IV saves lives. At its worst, it can be a bully. It owns patents in software, medical devices, and other areas, and licenses rights under those patents for a fee. Companies in Silicon Valley, in particular, have complained that IV’s stance is basically, “Pay up or we’ll sue.” The bulk of its revenue comes from these licensing deals. Wood prefers to keep the conversation on IV’s weird, wonderful ideas, leaving talk of this side of its business to Myhrvold.