Two things. R&D is not a generic, fungible thing. R&D that occurs in a patent environment will have a different focus than R&D that occurs without. I'd expect f

Two things. R&D is not a generic, fungible thing. R&D that occurs in a patent environment will have a different focus than R&D that occurs without. I'd expect funding spent on lawyers writing defencive patent proposals would be figured on the balance sheet as R&D, even though it isn't. Or R&D spent finding new ways to extend existing patent rights of a drug. Or finding ways to innovate without breaching competitors' patents. Secondly, there's no evidence to demonstrate that the amount of R&D that happens with patents is more than there would be without patents. I think you're focussed on the upside - companies that do some more work because of protection. But that needs to be balanced against the amount of research and development that isn't done because of the increased barriers to entry.