Yet, in America and most of the world, drug prices are still exorbitant and the spread of knowledge is tightly limited. That is because we have created a patent system that gives innovators a temporary monopoly over what they create, which encourages them to hoard their knowledge, lest they help a competitor.
但是，在美国以及世界大部分地区，药品价格依然高得离谱，知识的传播则受到了严格的制约。这是因为我们所创造的专利制度给了创新者对其所创之物的暂时垄断权，这促使创新者对知识敝帚自珍，唯恐助了竞争者一臂之力。