>When Flemming discovered penicillin he wasn't thinking on patenting that discovery
That's not how drug development works though is it, we can't rely on happy accidents for all scientific/medical advances.
>I bet he wasn't being funded either, he just did it for the love of science and the greater benefit of humanity
This works if you have a source of sustenance. It doesn't work against a backdrop of capitalism.
Tesla became wealthy through patents enabling him to fund his later experimentation. Whether he did it to further scientific understanding or not he benefited greatly both in wealth and ability to further his research because of the IP laws at the time.
That's not how drug development works though is it, we can't rely on happy accidents for all scientific/medical advances.
>I bet he wasn't being funded either, he just did it for the love of science and the greater benefit of humanity
This works if you have a source of sustenance. It doesn't work against a backdrop of capitalism.
Tesla became wealthy through patents enabling him to fund his later experimentation. Whether he did it to further scientific understanding or not he benefited greatly both in wealth and ability to further his research because of the IP laws at the time.