"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Note that according the US Constitution the most important reason for the existence of patents & copyright is the promotion of science & art. If the net result of the patent system is not promoting science & art, it is not operating as intended. Certainly there will be winners and losers under any scheme, but in my experience the current setup is a net drag on innovation. Making buckets of money by being first and being innovative is reward enough to incentive progress. These days most companies filing for patents are doing it defensively anyway.