We were on the brink of changing the world before...

We were on the brink of changing the world before we got stuck in this legal muck.

Michael Phillips, founder of a voice recognition software company called Vlingo, on being sued in 2008 for patent infringement.

At the time, Vlingo was in partnership discussions with Apple and Google but both stopped negotiations because of the suit.

While Vlingo was eventually exonerated, it cost the company $3 million in legal fees and they eventually agreed to be bought by the company that sued them.

The New York Times, The Patent, Used as a Sword.

In the smartphone industry, according to the article, ”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.”