There's very little actual evidence for modern day patents being a value-add to society. see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733398000481

There's very little actual evidence for modern day patents being a value-add to society. see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733398000481 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004873339.... Particular industries, eg drug patenting, could be far better addressed with targeted legislation but at this point it's mostly just momentum and vested interests. It provides huge benefits for a small group and diffused costs. It's hard to imagine it being possible to get enough momentum to change things.