Do patents sometimes impede scientific progress?

In case you missed it, TOTN featured a good discussion on patents last week.

Talk of the Nation, December 1, 2006 · A new report says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is too liberal in awarding patents for the basic building blocks of science, and science suffers as a result.

Guest:

Lori Andres, Distinguished Professor of Law, Director, Institute for Science, Law and Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois

Also last Friday, Ari Shapiro reported on new regs regarding data retention for businesses.

Morning Edition, December 1, 2006 · New rules take effect that help companies decide how many e-mails and other digital items they have to keep in case someone sues them and demands the documents be brought to court. Even small companies can generate millions of digital documents in a very short time, and systems for managing them can be expensive.