That was the terrible calculus of submarine patents [0]. Submit a broad patent application today for something conceptually simple that's not currently possible

That was the terrible calculus of submarine patents [0]. Submit a broad patent application today for something conceptually simple that's not currently possible (so nobody has bothered to patent it). File continuations and extensions for years until it is possible and people start doing it. Get patent with early priority date. Profit. Fortunately, the rules were changed in the 1990s to limit extensions. Still, you get 20 years from the initial filing. So if you think something will happen within 20 years but hasn't been explored yet, you too can submit a patent. Enforcing such patents is dirty work, so you basically have to dedicate the rest of your career to rent-seeking. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent