ARTICLE By: Reinaldo Franqui Machin* Introduction The patent system has been instrumental to the United States’ technological development.[efn_note]See David Kline, Do Patents Really Promote Innovation?, THE MICHELSON INSTITUTE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (April 24, 2017), https://michelsonip.com/patents-really-promote-innovation/ (summarizing the positive influence patents have had on innovation in the United States).[/efn_note] A new trend in patent applications has