The political decision on these issues, if true, may seem simple, it really is not. The interests of the big pharmaceutical companies worldwide and particularly in the United States, make the political solution even more difficult. And as mentioned in the article, the Technological Transfer Offices would not let their cash flows decrease either.

It's not really an unsolvable problem. Congress could easily enact legislation making all government funding subject to the following requirements. "Any R & D which utilizes government funding should by contract, be required to REPAY those funds plus a 20% premium in the event the drugs are successfully commercialized in any way, including all future sales of the underlying Intellectual property (patents, trademarks and trade-names). Each successor purchaser of the Assets would take title subject to this requirement."

In effect, each grant of government funding would carry the requirement that the government be granted a license interest in all future commercialization as a result of the application of those funds. A failure to comply could be deemed an assignment by operation of law of all rights under any patent covering such drugs.