like most things, it may have started out to protect or help the "little guy", but it inevitably gets corrupted and subverted. It now only protects the big players. Even if you have created something truly novel, the big guys will out-litigate, outspend, and outlast you. And, the big guys can afford to patented so many obvious "inventions" as to stifle any competition.

The patent system has become a victim of regulatory capture.

That is of course, if it really did start out to protect the little guy.

"That is of course, if it really did start out to protect the little guy."

One version I have heard is that it started as a means for the military to gain access to the latest technological developments.