Patents Chilling Science?
SIPPA and AAAS recently conducted a survey on the effects of patenting
on science. From the report:
Of the 40% of respondents who reported their work had been affected
[by patents], 58% said their work was delayed, 50% reported they
had to change the research, and 28% reported abandoning their
research project. The most common reason respondents reported
having to change or abandon their research project was that the
acquisition of the necessary technologies involved overly complex
licensing negotiations.
I don't know about you, but if I had to choose between preserving
scientific research and preserving the patent system, the choice of
which to keep and which to reform is pretty clear.
If you'd like things to change, maybe you should send a nice letter
explaining these findings to your Senators and Congressional
Representatives, and urge them to draft/support legislation that
decreases the ability of patent-holders to stifle research and
innovation (no, we aren't talking about backing this kind of patent
reform). Perhaps you'd also like to suggest the independent invention
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