What role do patents play in "open" communication of science?

Patents pose an interesting problem for science communication -- they are both a way to ensure that technological ideas ("invention") are made public, while simultaneously protecting the ideas for exclusive use of the inventor. These purposes often come in conflict. A recent commentary on the challenges: Andrews, L., Paradise, J., Holbrook, T., & Bochneak, D. (2006). SCIENCE AND LAW: When Patents Threaten Science. Science, 314(5804), 1395-1396. <http://sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/314/5804/1395>