Last month, SES Americom was forced to write off its AMC-14 satellite as a loss because the only thing that could save it - a lunar fly-by process - was patented by Boeing, which refused to let SES use it unless the satellite operator dropped a completely unrelated lawsuit.
The problem is that such an overhaul would be a massive and expensive task in itself, requiring loads of international cooperation. And today's major IPR owners would probably fight tooth and nail to preserve the status quo if reform meant giving up existing patents. Until the patent system can be reworked into something sane, patent pools may be the better bet for 4G and other emerging technologies.