Trouble in intellectual-property land: "Pure patent-licensing companies, the ones critics call 'trolls,' have become central in the debate."

As Mr. Myhrvold's firm has grown, its relationship with the tech industry has become increasingly adversarial. There is an "implicit threat" that if companies don't agree to a licensing deal with Intellectual Ventures, they could face costly patent-infringement lawsuits, says Henry Gutman, a lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP whose clients include companies that have been approached with licensing deals by Intellectual Ventures. Mr. Myhrvold's firm holds so many patents, it is "operating on a scale where it becomes really difficult to just say 'no,'" Mr. Gutman says.

Mr. Myhrvold vigorously defends his business, saying he's trying to put a stop to a culture of patent infringement that he says has let powerful Internet and tech companies steal other inventors' intellectual property. "Some of them are committed infringers, they're complete pirates," Mr. Myhrvold says, declining to be specific.

I always liked Myhrvold, at least as I knew him through the press.

Here's a sunnier look at his company, courtesy of Malcolm Gladwell.