Not to mention...
...the fact that there are increasing numbers of patents out there that either should never have been granted in the first place, or should be knocked down in short order. I don't know whether this is due to Patent Offices no longer being sufficiently diligent in their examination of claims or their being overwhelmed by the volume of work caused by people trying to patent every little thing that they think might be a patentable invention (and often isn't, but then makes it through the system anyway).
It seems to be happening in most industries too. And don't even get me started on the subject of reprehensible slimy little patent trolls (we all know who they are).
I reckon that if someone submits a patent and it is either obviously a complete crock, or it is subsequently easily shown to be inadmissible, the person submitting the original claim should potentially have to pay significant monetary damages to the patent office to compensate them for the time and hassle. The only exception to this should be if the original submission was, on examination, found to have been made entirely in good faith and the reasons for its inadmissibility honestly not knowable beforehand. Something like that anyway. There's got to be some way to put a brake on the increasing number of junk patents. Some kind of formal requirement either to progress a successful patent into a marketable product within a certain time, or at least actively license the patent to someone else who is willing to do so, should also probably be considered in order to stop the slimeballs who just sit on a patent portfolio and wait for someone to sue. Sort of a "use it or lose it" clause.
Oh, and any damages paid to patent offices by junk applicants should be ring-fenced to improve the number (or quality) of patent officers and/or the systems that they use in their work. That way, the junk patents will finally do some good by helping to improve the operation of the patent office itself.
(And no, I don't actually work for a patent office, so I'm not just asking for jam on it on my own behalf...)