If We Didn't Have Patents, How Would Major Companies Be Able to Harass Innovative Start-Ups?

A NYT article on Xiaomi, a fast-growing Chinese start-up that is now the number three seller of cell phones in the world, included the fascinating sentence:

"Xiaomi does not yet have much of a patent portfolio, leaving it vulnerable to lawsuits from competitors."

On its face, this sentence should have left readers baffled. Why would the lack of a patent portfolio make a company vulnerable to lawsuits? The answer of course is that patents are used as a harassing tactic. The idea is to bury you...