Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever chemicals’ fuels debate

Re:Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever ch... by TylerE on Tuesday August 01, 2023 @07:50PM (#36964930)

Ig you remove the incentive, why would they pay to do the research in the first place?

There is a gulf of value between "literal cure for cancer" and, like, some basic consumer good. Most things do not exist at either extreme end. Not all things worth doing are wildly profitable.

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Re:Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever ch... by markdown on Tuesday August 01, 2023 @08:49PM (#36965455)

Huh? The incentive hasn't been removed. You only lose it if you aren't producing the patented product for commercial sale.

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Re:Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever ch... by TylerE on Tuesday August 01, 2023 @08:58PM (#36965553)

I'm talking about a hypothetical world where the lifetime of a patent is only, say, 5 years. That's a much shorter window to recoup expenses, and thus many projects that are financially justifiable in the current environment would not be.

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