When Patents Become Weapons

"In the smartphone industry alone [...], as much as $20 billion was spent on patent litigation and patent purchases in the last two years — an amount equal to eight Mars rover missions." 

Did you know that last year, in an alarming tend, Apple spent more on lawsuits than on research and development?  Read about it here.  This could be a trend worth evaluating. You need not make an argument for or against this trend. Instead you offer objective and rigorous evaluation based on accurate information.