The Patent System

What do you guys think about the patent system? I think it's absolutely absurd. You don't deserve monopoly on an idea just because you discovered it! I decided to post because I just saw that Motorola is trying to block sales of all Xbox 360s in the US because of some retarded patent. The Xbox is a great product that has been used for over 5 years now, but the courts have halted all shipments until the patent problems are worked out. Absolutely ridiculous. Especially when you consider that Motorola and Microsoft are not even competitors in the console gaming market. Such a broken system.

So, what are your assessments of the current patent system in place? Also, should there be a patent system at all?