Look up excludable and rivalrous. They help describe the problem patent laws attempt to solve. Here, I'll do it for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excludab

Look up excludable and rivalrous. They help describe the problem patent laws attempt to solve. Here, I'll do it for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excludability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excludability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_(economics)