The most famous example is probably Watt's steam engine. Bolton & Watt had high development costs and could not have gotten funding without their patent.
But once established they definitely used patents against smaller competitors. So it is hard to say for sure even in this case whether patents were a net win. They probably were though. The patent probably caused modern separate-condenser steam engines to happen at least a few years earlier.
(I recommend the story of Bolton & Watt to present day founders. It is remarkable how little has changed.)
But once established they definitely used patents against smaller competitors. So it is hard to say for sure even in this case whether patents were a net win. They probably were though. The patent probably caused modern separate-condenser steam engines to happen at least a few years earlier.
(I recommend the story of Bolton & Watt to present day founders. It is remarkable how little has changed.)