Of course, the loss of patent protection for Lipitor is one issue, and no one knows how well their pipeline drugs will be able to pick up the slack.

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The number of patent applications where this ever becomes an issue is a tiny, tiny (did I mention TINY?) percentage.

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The case hinges on whether judges should issue an injunction as a matter of course in cases of patent infringement.

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The big issue is whether new products can make up for the patent expiration in two years of top-seller Zocor, a cholesterol drug.

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In addition to patent trolls and privateers, the sheer volume of patents is another overwhelming issue.

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The U.S. Patent Office should only be able to issue patents on things that require some level of human manipulation to be useful, Ravicher says.

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Whether FRAND-encumbered patent holders should be able to seek injunctions is a critically important policy issue, and as a matter of policy a prohibition may make perfect sense.

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