The rash of patent spats has evoked a range of opinions—but patent litigation is no joke. And in the smart phone arena, the battles among major companies in the mobile space could get “out of whack,” unless President Obama intervenes. At least that’s what Verizon’s chief counsel, Randal Milch seems to thinks.

We have already seen the first hint of what disruption would look like in the Apple vs. Samsung case, in which a European Union court banned the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the EU markets. Companies are now taking their cases straight to the International Trade Commission (ITC), which hears patent disputes and has the power to block importation of infringing devices. This mean gridlock in a market that has seen unprecedented growth and, importantly, is creating jobs, says The Wall Street Journal’s Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

But an Obama intervention–if that were ever to happen—would have him perform a delicate balancing act between preventing an ITC “train wreck” and not depriving companies of their right to litigate.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal ^[1].