To be fair, General Motors is built off of the idea of the wheel, which I believe is an original idea

I'm not so sure, their 'original' wheel was just a refinement to the round boulders that already existed on the planet and the mechanical advantages naturally existing in that form.

By that logic, the Taggart Baking Co. should have been one of the richest companies ever, since everyone compares their product to it as the greatest thing since.