Sir

A journal of Nature's calibre should be above taking cheap shots at attorneys in general and patent attorneys in particular. In your editorial on the sharing of research materials, advocating the use of uniform materials transfer agreements, the final sentence was unnecessary, unprofessional, and sorely weakened an otherwise cogent, if misguided, argument ( Nature 396, 97; 1998 ).

“No one need lose but the lawyers”? A little simplistic, don't you think? Especially in the light of the fact that it is patent attorneys who provide the written record, in the form of granted patents, that allows both private and public organizations to generate revenues from their discoveries. In an era of shrinking public funding of basic scientific research, these revenues are an indispensable tool to fund research.

Failing to protect such resources will cause unwary research organizations to incur significant losses. By denigrating the role of patent lawyers in protecting valuable intellectual property, you have done your readers a grave disservice.