But on a deeper level, this reveals the fundamentally broken nature of the patent system—a system ostensibly around to promote innovation. The patent system is now more about litigation than it is about innovation. It has forced small startups and new ventures into tight corners, and when seemingly the only way out is to shack up with the strangest of bedfellows—those that are part of the con and therefore know the con best—that‘s when we know that reform has to come, and it has to come soon.