The original idea behind technological patents, which give innovators a limited monopoly over the use of their creations, was to spur technological innovation.  With cell phones, however, patents seem to be having the opposite effect.  As cell phones become more and more advanced, incorporating ever-growing numbers of new features and capabilities–let’s face it, the line between cell phones and computers is growing ever more nonexistent–a huge number of patents, as many as 250,000, according to some estimates, apply to every single phone.  Large corporations such as Microsoft or Apple are also increasingly stockpiling patents, in some cases even buying them from one another.  As companies consolidate and defend their patents, consumers may be the ultimate losers, saddled with increasingly expensive products and left holding phones that are either substandard or no longer sold in their country due to the collective greed of cell phone companies.