[noo_u]

The US is the world leader in suing in general, and yet it produces a lot more research than most other legally friendly places... how's that?

[iamrobertismo]

I think some people overblow the lawsuit risk in the US. It really does suck here, however one of the benefits to certain types of innovation is that the US has a lot of IP protection infrastructure. Which stiffles innovation in a lot of ways, but also makes investment easier in some cases.

[mhuffman]

This is true in a way. We are all very free to research and innovate, it is just when you get it in your mind to actually make any money that the lawsuits show up.

[almosthere]

Legally risky research, but if it has high enough rewards will eventually end up in the hands of extremely large companies that have the legal backing to do anything they want.

[elictronic]

We have a lot of money. Smart people can make more money by working here.

[munk-a]

Momentum is a large part. I also do think there's somewhat of a motivation that once you've gotten to the top you can sue people who try to displace you into oblivion - ye olde classic "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" syndrome.