The industry also is awash in nuisance-value litigation.

WSJ: Should Patents Be Awarded to Software?

The government brushed Mr Davis aside by pointing out that neither the value of claims nor the volume of litigation have increased much recently: last year, accident claims actually fell by 9.5%.

ECONOMIST: A misguided attack on a real problem

It has even provided details of its litigation to analysts who cover Gevo, whose shares have lost half their value this year.

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