"This feeds into a complex development problem. In an ideal world developments paid for by the public should be available to the public. At the same time business will be disinclined to push those developments to the marketing stage without some exclusive rights on the market. How does one resolve this problem?" If the cost of adopting a new innovation is low you don't have a problem. If the invention is very easy to duplicate once the first one is made, you don't have a problem. If adopting an expensive innovation clearly gives you a larger competitive advantage in the marketplace, you don't have a problem. I think that the only problem is when the innovation involves a significant expense and is perceived to provide a small, moderate or uncertain payback.