> A researcher working for Pfizer is essentially getting the same deal as a researcher working for the government or a publicly funded university.
A voluntary agreement that the scientist and Pfizer both believe is in their own interest. The scientist presumably believes that Pfizer's funding and research equipment etc. is worth the shared ownership or whatever arrangement results.
> The scientist (or team) in question who creates the drug is almost never the one collecting the rents.
Can you clarify what you mean? If Pfizer conducts the research then they collect the rent. If an independent scientist conducts the research, then they will own the IP and will collect the rent instead.
No job contract is truly voluntary in the absence of a guaranteed livable income. Period.
Take the implicit threat of poverty out of the salary/job negotiation process (e.g. with a basic income) and then we can talk about "voluntary" contracts.
>Can you clarify what you mean? If Pfizer conducts the research then they collect the rent.
Legal entities do not conduct research, people do. Legal entities do collect rents, though (which are then distributed).
Ostensibly, the patent system is there to spur innovation by people.
Exaggeration? Small jobs are everywhere (washing dishes, hauling, yard work) that put off starvation. That means you can take a (little) while to decide on a job, and reject jobs that don't appeal. Its not "take the 1st job you find or die".
So, to not take a job I don't want I have to take another (small) job. Sounds pretty much like "you either have some job or you die" to me. And not exactly voluntary.
A voluntary agreement that the scientist and Pfizer both believe is in their own interest. The scientist presumably believes that Pfizer's funding and research equipment etc. is worth the shared ownership or whatever arrangement results.
> The scientist (or team) in question who creates the drug is almost never the one collecting the rents.
Can you clarify what you mean? If Pfizer conducts the research then they collect the rent. If an independent scientist conducts the research, then they will own the IP and will collect the rent instead.