Let&#x27;s say you invent a doodad in your garage. You have the implementation, you have a working device, but you don&#x27;t (yet) have a product you can sell. You are unlikely to be setup to manufacturer this, so you&#x27;ll you need to find a partner to produce that doodad. Patents protect you during this process, so that a manufacturer can&#x27;t just go &quot;oh cool we&#x27;ll not pay you and instead just go do this under our house brand without you&quot;<p>At least that&#x27;s the theory. The reality is it&#x27;s increasingly unlikely you&#x27;ll be able to invent anything physical by yourself in a garage anymore in the first place and things like software have no barrier to mass distribution like physical goods do.