I think longer is one element of it. It's the other costs that go with it that are important. It's not only the filing process and going through the searches, but also the length of the patent. The big piece that also ties in with this is the enforceability. If you are going to have a patent, you should be able to enforce it if there is an infringement. So that process needs to be dealt with as well. You can't say having your patent length increased from 17 to 20 or 25 years is going to draw an investment. There are other issues that play into it.
On November 1st, 2012. See this statement in context.