I have been talking about the trend upwards in the Biotech Industry for a while on this blog. They have been a leader since the market bottom of 2009.

I have always been nervous about biotech stocks because I don’t understand the financial structures, FDA risk and valuations. I avoid.

Patents have the same feel. The large technology companies are in a turf war over patents, they always have been and they have the cash to fight this war. It seems senseless to me as a small shareholder in many of the public leaders and investor in so many freshly coded start-ups, but it is happening. The intensity and scale seems to be broadening.

When $RIMM lost it’s huge patent battle years back, it emboldened the little guy, at least the marketing potential of a good patent story wrapped inside of a holding Company.

I am watching this play out now on Stocktwits in a few stocks, most notably $VRNG. It’s pure speculative fever. For two years this tiny holding Company has traded right around $2.60 with a couple huge spikes but based on the activity of the stream, it is the war of the worlds. I don’t understand it, and am biased against the idea of courtroom battles on old software patents that have been sold like hot potatoes from party to party with no business value added, but you can’t hide from it.

You might as well shine a lot of light on it.

I can’t tell if this marks the ‘top’ in the market for software patents, but I hope this smaller drama brings the right type of attention to it from the court systems and technology leaders.

Massively unproductive from where I sit.

Disclosure – Have never bought or sold $VRNG, hope I never have to.