[fireman15]

This is why both Apple and Google spend more money on their legal departments than they do on research. Our system is broken and has been almost from the time of its inception. Unfortunately, it is not any more likely to be fixed than it would be for Obama to balance the budget. There are too many lawyers living off the fruits of the true innovators; they will ensure that no meaningful reform is ever made.

There really is almost no way for the public to know who the real innovator really was once the lawyers get their claws into it. There are so many ways that the system is manipulated.

[Swordmaker]

This is why both Apple and Google spend more money on their legal departments than they do on research. Our system is broken and has been almost from the time of its inception. Unfortunately, it is not any more likely to be fixed than it would be for Obama to balance the budget. There are too many lawyers living off the fruits of the true innovators; they will ensure that no meaningful reform is ever made.p> Your first sentence is total BS, fireman15. Apple and Google do not spend more money on their legal departments than on research. Apple spent under $375 million on legal defense expenses in 2014, which was admittedly very high, however they spend a lot more on Research.

Apple's Research and Development spending in 2014 *

Quarter Ending	Amount Invested
March 31, 2014	$ 1.422 Billion
June 30, 2014	$ 1.603 Billion
September 30, 2014	$ 1.686 Billion
December 31, 2014	$ 1.895 Billion
TOTAL INVESTED IN R&D 2014	$ 6.606 Billion

* Source: Apple Inc 10-Qs for 2014