so how few... (Score 1)

I think the /. folks should start a project to determine the minimum number of carefully interlocking but seriously idiotic patents it might take to cause the patent (and existing legal) systems to permanently deadlock on incontrovertible contridictions. Figure once that happens, we're home-free until everyone figures out how to sort it out. I can imagine the headline: "Government demands society stop inventing new stuff until we can figure out what the word actually means."