> How effective are patents at protecting an under-funded inventor? Also, how effective is not having a patent at protecting an under-funded inventor? There a

> How effective are patents at protecting an under-funded inventor? Also, how effective is not having a patent at protecting an under-funded inventor? There are ample cases of smaller inventors getting decent payouts from bigger companies stealing the invention, often after having been shown it be the small guy trying to find a way to bring to market. And, if the patent is really valuable, small guys can often find bigger guys to fund patent suits for a cut of the return, just like any business. Not having a patent is not a gain for a small time inventor. When I have done startup style things, I was constantly asked if I have patents. It enables investors to have more leverage to protect the startup from outright copying from bigger, better funded companies.