Patents may or may not be a problem in the software industry, but in the rest of the economy they're generally a beneficial thing.<p>The Patents on Back Rack and Safety Rack products mean they're produced in a plant in Oakville, Ontario plant, not produced in China or South Korea. They have cheap competitors, but trademark and a patented design mean they're the ones used by companies.<p>People need to look a little wider than their narrow little hole in the dirt when they start saying we should abandon entire systems that have helped support the little guy with a good idea in almost every industry in the existence except software.