That can be a real problem for a drug or medical process that takes a number of years to test for approval ~ you might end up with an exclusive marketing period of just a few years.
It's enough of a problem for those scientists they they've repeatedly asked Congress for relief on duration of patents.
Actually, as a research scientist who has never been associated with a pharmaceutical company, if I want samples of an experimental drug for research, I can sign something called a "Material Transfer Agreement," in which I promise not to use the drug for any commercial purpose, and communicate to the company any results of my research. Plus, when I publish those results, I must say where I got the drug samples.
This is pretty standard practice within the scientific world. As I said before, there is no real risk to Rossi--if what he has is genuine, then all he has to do is have the independent investigators sign non-disclosure agreements, MTAs, or whatever legal documents, and his property is protected. The excuse that the eCat isn't under patent protection doesn't hold water to someone aware of how the scientific world operates.