More than any single device, patent, or patent-holder, what is on trial in San Jose is a system that confers ownership upon ideas that should be un-ownable, grants remedies not aligned with injuries, and establishes no meaningful guidelines for how manufacturers should behave.
Rather than hoping that barely adequate voluntary reforms at scandal-hit companies will start a trend, how about a federal law of incorporation which establishes a firm principle that outsiders must be given a fair shot at company boards?