The essential principle of patents is the idea that the innovation or invention will benefit society as a whole. This does not usually extend to discoveries, which is interesting because a development leads to an invention. The person who made the discovery is not supported for the information they bring to the table, but someone who can come and use their data to create an invention that is useful for society and will obtain a patent. If I were the scientist who made the discovery, I would be upset that someone could take my work and I not be compensated. It does discourage people from making discoveries if they know the possibilities of what could happen.
In this sense, you can say that patents do decrease competition. Some people who make discoveries do so for the good of humanity, but others want to be recognized and compensated for their efforts. Some people are not willing to commit their lives to these efforts without seeing any real fruits of labor.
A comparison I can think of is Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You” related to Whitney Houston’s rendition. Most people know and sing Houston’s version of the song, and most Millennials and Generation Z did not know it was a cover. There is no doubt that Parton receives royalties and residuals from the song, but the point I am making is about recognition. The cover has become more popular and influential to modern culture than the original.
Going back to the world of inventions and innovations, one would think that the lack of recognition discourages many people from participating in the race of discovery, but there are plenty still in. There are, however, more partnerships and groups who will credit those whose research was drawn upon, even though the patent offices do not.