A warning from 1991:

"If people had understood how patents would be granted when 
most of today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, 
the industry would be at a complete stand-still today. [...] 
A future start-up with no patents of its own will be forced 
to pay whatever price the giants choose to impose. That price 
might be high: Established companies have an interest in 
excluding future competitors."

William H. Gates
Internal Microsoft Memo (1991)
[Fred Warshofsky, The Patent Wars (1994)]

COMMAND> GO TO COURT
Legal fees are $600,000.  Current funds are $400,000.
You've gone broke!

Do you want to play Patent Adventure again?> DEFINITELY NOT
http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/Patents/industry-at-risk.html