WHAT OTHERS SAY: Samsung patent infringement calls attention to patent approval process

After finding Samsung liable for more than $1 billion in damages for infringing Apple's iPhone and iPad patents, members of a federal jury told reporters that they hoped to deter companies from copying one another instead of developing their own designs and features. That's a laudable goal, and the public would surely benefit from more choice and differentiation among products. The challenge is in distinguishing between the sorts of innovations that should receive patent protection and the ones that shouldn't.