Re:Cost of reproduction (Score 1)

This is a good point, and I'd add the most intriguing aspect of the current patent crisis - that the METHOD, the PROCESS is often patented. This is very difficult to overcome, but it must be if we wish to see social justice and innovation - and good business - mentioned in the same sentence. The coordinated commissioning of new technology is one way forward. While hardware is indeed important, I think the most challenging part is the patented methods and procedures. Trivial for academics to repeat; impossible for small business. Also, the thicket of patents and overlapping claims is a deeply frustrating and challenging issue. A single key process may be protected by literally hundreds of patent claims by many different owners. How can low-margin activities like agriculture and food security ever negotiate these? This is one thing driving us - drop the transaction costs, make real creativity into small markets possible.