Rights related to intellectual property such as patents and copyrights are particularly important because IP is both a reward for innovation (if I invent a better mousetrap I get to patent it) and an input to it (most new ideas are recombinations of existing ones).

WSJ: The Experts: What Role Does Government Play in Innovation?

In the U.S., we pay for drugs while there is a patent, and then they get super-cheap.

FORBES: Molecules, Money, and Ambien Awakenings

The two companies are engaged in a worldwide patent struggle, each trying to get the other company's products banned for sale in various regions.

ENGADGET

They spend brief periods of time innovating, and then milk a technology, brand, patent, or some combination therein for as long as they can get away with it (or in Moto's case, way longer).

ENGADGET: Motorola's cellphone business needs a new leader: okay, I'm in.