Rent Seeking

In class we discussed the problems that are derived from Rent-Seeking. I thought the extent of the problems were only large in theory and not so much in the actual market place, however the diversion of resources that companies use to seek out the government favors really are enormous. In 2011 Google and Apple spent more on patent lawsuits and patent purchases than they actually spent on research and development of new products. Even though it seems like Apple is pumping out a new I-something or app every other week, I could not even imagine what kind of toys would be available if those resources spent on patents were used on producing new technologies. It does seem very opportunistic on these companies part by buying and protecting their patents in order to prevent any kind of real competition in their respective industries, but it seems that a little competition would do some good for the consumers in the aspect that Apple and Google would have to spend much more on new products and provide some really amazing things. I was blown away from this statistic and truly see the issues of Rent-Seeking in the actual market now.