[Patents] Pharmaceutical patents

[Andrew Weaver Andrew.Weaver@tecnomen.fi]

Luuk van Dijk <Luuk.van.Dijk@xs4all.nl> wrote...

"...If patent protection were not available to the farmaceutical
industry, these life saving drugs would not even be there.
The competition can make cheaper drugs because they didn't have
to pay for the development.

Now that may be true or not (impossible to judge without a
precise look at their financial administration), but it shows
an essential difference between farmaceutics and software:
..."

Absolutely on the button Luuk. Pharmaceutical companies invest millions in
researching for drugs and treatments often with no return on that investment
via a saleable product. Even in success, it can take several years of
passing governmental tests, clinical trials and so on before any revenue is
realised.

Software is not in this arena at all. 

Kind Regards

Andy Weaver