This is how the system has worked, quite well, for decades if not centuries. The short term profit motive prevents the vast majority of companies from carrying

This is how the system has worked, quite well, for decades if not centuries. The short term profit motive prevents the vast majority of companies from carrying out basic research like this and without IP protections most won't risk investing into manufacturing infrastructure that will quickly be copied in lower cost jurisdictions. There is a lot wrong with our patent system but it does its job for the most part.