Re: Where would we be without these important patents?

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 15:03:56 -0000, "Andy F." <never.mind@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

<royls@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:441c40b1.20222611@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Irrelevant. A losing lottery ticket isn't worth a thing, either.
That doesn't stop people from buying them. And buying those tickets
reduces the amount people have to invest in more useful things, just
as the huge rent seeker spending on worthless but patentable
technologies crowds out more useful and promising research on
unpatentable technologies.

I don't think your crowding out theory makes sense.

Because you know no economics.

There isn't a fixed
amount to be invested in R&D.

The elasticity isn't infinite, either.

The amount firms invest depends on what profits
they expect to make. If you made patentable technologies less profitable,
firms would invest less money in research.

No, they wouldn't. That is just flat false. They would simply
reallocate research funds from patentable to unpatentable research.

Also, since patents have to be published and become public domain once they
expire,patents actually increase the amount of technical information in the
public domain, and thus increase the opportunities for research.

Nope. The system of scholarly priority used for scientific research
does that far more efficiently, and without all the waste and rent
seeking of patents.

-- Roy L
.

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