Many large companies are buying up patents to deliberately squash the patented technology from coming to market.
It sounds hard to believe, but it is true. For example, a guy invented and patented a very viable long term battery for an electric car, and an oil company (Chevron I think) bought the patent just so it could not go to market. There are many similar stories and one involving a promising AIDS drug.
I suggest that if no action (meaning a product coming to market in say 5 years) is taken on a patent, then that patent expires and becomes public property. Some people are abusing the patent laws to squash progress. The patent laws need to be changed.
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There are also drug companies who actually "own" genomes, for say cancer, so that they're the only ones that can reasearch it. I guess there is more money in curing the symptoms than in curing the disease.
How much are oil companys paying for patents. I might get a few good energy ideas patented just so I can make a little green from companies who lie about being green.