No patents anywhere means companies with more money and a thumb on the pulse will unabashedly ape smaller do-ers work.<p>We should encourage independent inventors and small &#x2F; mid-size businesses to risk capital on R&amp;D, and reward them with a bit of protection so they can do some marketing while bringing a new thing to market, without having to worry about a big company duplicating their work and selling over them.<p>The internet doesn&#x27;t fix the economies of scale afforded by a big cash pile, for either marketing or distribution.