Non-practicing entities seem like an easy target, but really, they&#x27;re not the root of the problem.  The root of the problem is ridiculous patents on obvious ideas.<p>A patent is a grant of a temporary monopoly to an inventor in exchange for disclosure of the invention.  But nobody in the system is charged with looking out for the public interest in the making of this deal.  Patent examiners do not get bonuses based on the number of bad patents they reject.  Despite that, in court, a granted patent is presumed to be valid!  It takes a strong argument to invalidate it.<p>By my analysis, it is the presumption of validity that is the worst problem.  A patent owner suing for infringement should first have to present objective evidence that their patent is nonobvious.