The Public Policy
Is Chunky Monkey an Obvious Combination?
Perhaps unwittingly, the Supreme Court has moved to stifle innovation in modern medicine.
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There's also the problematic issue of how such a sum would be determined.
The United States government does not have a good track record when it comes to rewarding inventors.
For example, the federal government paid Robert Goddard -- "the father of American rocketry" -- $1 million as compensation for his basic liquid rocket patents. That was hardly a fair price given that during the remaining life of those patents, U.S. expenditures on liquid-propelled rockets amounted to around $10 billion.
Even though the "prize" system is widely acknowledged to be a crackpot idea, it has a frightening number of supporters in high places -- including the U.S. Senate.
In fact, Sen. Bernie Sanders is introducing federal legislation to create a prize system for medical innovations. Leave it to the senator from Vermont to come up with a Ben & Jerry's-style solution.
If only inventing the cure for cancer were as easy as dreaming up a new flavor of ice cream.
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Mike| 1.31.10 @ 4:59AM
It's far cheaper for generic companies to wage these legal battles than invent the drugs themselves. If they win, they can reap the benefits of the hundreds of millions worth of research that a name-brand company spent developing the drug. If the drug is denied patent protection, generic companies move in to reproduce low-cost copies of the same molecular combinations. I dont like medicine companies at all I think they only go after money. Mike at the down comforter guide.