Patent reform is in the air. Five bills are pending in Congress and just yesterday the Obama Administration put out a strongly worded report on the issue.

Given the timeliness of the issue, it's no shock to see an op-ed about the issue in today's New York Times, suggesting a solution to "[t]he onslaught of litigation brought by 'patent trolls.'" But the missive comes from a surprising and influential source—Randall Rader, the Chief Judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all patent appeals.