Re: The patent process [Was Re: Sharing the Family PC is Patent-Pending]

[Stefan Monnier]

> *more* on advertising -- not only would they have to convince consumers 
> that they need the drug in the first place, they would also have to 

That's actually an interesting aspect as well: patents basically
encourage greed-based research which leads to new products that are
only marginally useful.  But it's OK from a money point of view:
advertisement will convince people that they need it, and people with
enough money (who cares about the rest, after all) will buy it anyway
because they don't have much else left to buy with their money anyway.

I.e. the question is not just "do patents increase research" but also "what
kind of research does it increase".


        Stefan