Every now and then, a lawsuit comes along that speaks volumes about the political, economic and social choices of the culture that spawned it. The legal battle over the ubiquitous BlackBerry was like that: a case that captured, in one courtroom, the storm of forces buffeting the US innovation economy.

Yet, with that suit settled this month and BlackBerry users blissfully thumbing their way back to connectivity, the tempest has not abated. In less than two weeks the same types of character that peopled the BlackBerry saga - the technology titans and "patent trolls" of the digital age - will assemble for another battle over the rules of innovation. They will appear before the US Supreme Court for what could prove a landmark fight over the ownership of ideas, in a world where ideas increasingly determine prosperity.