Counterexample: how did the Internet and WWW ever evolve without a significant reliance on patents?  How did the software industry in general ever flourish?  The best we can say from empirical observation is that patents don&#x27;t lead to guaranteed failure.  We certainly can&#x27;t say they&#x27;re necessary.<p>If everything that <i>could</i> have been patented <i>was</i> patented, we&#x27;d all be poorer for it.  Except the lawyers, of course.