The Costliest Battle in the High-Tech World

Nor did it do anything to stop the continued flood of new patents streaming out of the agency: Last year, the office set a new record by granting nearly 250,000.

There's also a newer, even more unsettling problem: The big companies that once complained about trolls are now treating them like role models.

Courtesy Michael Risch

Michael Risch: A soldier in the patent cold war

Courtesy Craig Hockenberry

Craig Hockenberry’s Iconfactory had to cough up a settlement to patent troll Lodsys: “Everybody focuses on the percentage of money that was spent to license the patent. To me, that’s actually less damaging than what’s done to your spirit.”

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More About

• Michael Risch
• Tony Fadell
• Technology Sector
• Patents
• Law

According to The New York Times, last year was the first in which Apple and Google spent more on patent lawsuits and acquisitions than they did on research and development for new products. In August, Apple won a $1 billion patent-infringement judgment against competitor Samsung.

Nest might have deeper pockets than most, but they still aren't as deep as Honeywell's. In early October, Nest announced that six of Honeywell's seven patents had been rejected in re-examination by the patent office. Yet Honeywell has so far refused to budge.

Which means that, ultimately, Nest might be the next to learn the most important rule of modern invention: that the best weapon against someone else's patents is a stockpile of your own.