Obama Calls for Patent Reform to Topple Trolls
The primary problem is not NPEs, it's trivial "inventions" such as one-click purchasing and slide-to-unlock.  If the bar were much higher for patents, then NPEs would not be a problem.Having companies that licence out technology is a perfectly reasonable system, if the company has done significant research or purchased patents from people who have.  A secondary market for significant inventions is probably a good thing; a secondary market for borderline obvious inventions is not.