In economics there is a concept called "search costs." And those costs need to be compensated if you want to encourage searching. But, of course, as you said, s

In economics there is a concept called "search costs." And those costs need to be compensated if you want to encourage searching. But, of course, as you said, such compensation should not be in perpetuity. A patent, in this sense, is infinitely more reasonable than a land title as currently conceived.