• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Shouldn’t that patent have expired by now?

    It’s an evolving technology. We get new patents with every iteration.

    A market where only one entity is allowed to build MRI machines, or license the tech to others to build, is not a free market.

    If you spend a few years in Business School getting your MBA, you get an earful about how and why patent law exists. The core argument is that private investment is predicated on returns and we can’t have nice things unless we have men with guns come for the property and freedom of anyone who “steals an idea”.

    But more practically, this shit is just a racket. Lots of lobbyist money changes hands to make sure the decks at the casino are properly stacked. Medical treatment is just another opportunity to apply leverage through debt to control other people.