Alien-Interiew-Footnote-links
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| terial worldwide. Some feel that the increase in patenting biological information leads to inefficiency in research. Many scientists are coming up against patent thickets, which are masses of information that they must obtain permission (and often pay large fees to utilize) before they can ever work with the information. Michael Heller and Rebecca Eisenberg (2005) explain that there is a recent trend of patenting more and more steps along the research path. This creates a "tragedy of the anti- commons" whereby "each upstream patent allows its owner to setup another tollbooth on the road to product development, adding to the cost and slowing the pace of downstream. innovation. A report shows that notwithstanding escalating funding, in the past half-decade biomedical innovation has slowed markedly. The number of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration has fallen below previous eras. The technologies approved, it continues, are less influential than previous innovations approved. The current trend of patenting what previously were thought of as basic science insights have raised the financial bar for other scientists wanting to use such insight. The overall trend of more patents maybe slowing innovation. However, others point out that patents are necessary for research. Without them, scientists would keep secret all discoveries for fear of colleagues and others stealing their ideas. There would also belittle incentive for large-scale investments from the private sector. Reference Wikipedia.org back to 205) Download 2 Mb. Share with your friends:
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