The Venture Edge

it's amazing to me how often our government takes a perfectly good idea--for example, Startup America, designed  to encourage innovation--and then screws it up big time.  At the same time the White House was announcing all the programs that Peter talked about in his recent post (Ready. Set. Startup America), it also announced a new way for business to fast-track the paten tprocess. On the surface, this seems like a good thing, but look a little closer. 

More than one entrepreneur has looked forward to the day when his or her company might become the dominant player in the industry, the company that everyone wants to emulate.  In the search business that company is clearly Google.  But this week's headlines give you a different picture of what it's like to be number one--as number one you're also the biggest target of expensive, lengthy, and often damaging lawsuits.