: This is the nefarious aspect of 'intellectual property rights.': It takes science out of the hands of humanity and puts it at the service of a minority (whose prime incentive is making a quick buck).
Well Barry, I actually agree with some of your points (a first, to be sure). I believe that intellectual property should be protected but I think it is an absolute travesty to use the judicial system as a means of supressing a company. I think that intellectual property should be protected in the realm of books and ideas. Technology however, is a lot harder to control because essentially once you put say, a new vacuum cleaner on the market, you are basically allowing people to purchase your "closely" guarded technology. Any two-bit scientists/engineers can buy one, take it to their lab and reproduce a similar if not better model.
None.
