Eh, they aren't that difficult to get, especially if you have an attorney to help with the legalese. To your point, if you have a couple grand and an even medio

Eh, they aren't that difficult to get, especially if you have an attorney to help with the legalese. To your point, if you have a couple grand and an even mediocre idea, you can patent it. Technically, you can do it yourself but I suspect navigating the patent minefield is what makes it seem hard, not necessarily having a great new product. Source: I've done it just to see what the system is like.