Of course. From games to music to movies, when you limit the utility of a legitimately purchased product you will only serve to make the pirated version that much more appealing. Case in point: I can buy a movie from a Hollywood studio in Japan, but I play it on my US DVD player. If I were to pirate that same movie - I can save $20 and watch it anywhere! Localization and DRM = terrible concepts.
Heard this story when it originally aired. Myhrvold makes a good point - what he does should, IN THEORY, provide a way for inventors to monetize their IP should they lack other means. But that's NOT what IV does. They don't bring anything to market, and they have no intention of using any of the patents they own outside of the legal system. They simply shake other down others, sometimes small-time inventors, down for money.