If you are unable to make efficiently products based on your ideas, for the entire society it is much better if someone else is able to do efficient production.

If you are unable to make efficiently products based on your ideas, for the entire society it is much better if someone else is able to do efficient production. The reason why the Western countries have achieved their dominant position in the modern world is because at some point, a few centuries ago, the secrecy of the manufacturing guilds has been overridden by the new trend of publishing openly any new discovery in science and technology, while the countries like China, which have remained dominated by secrecy, have remained stagnant during the fast evolution of the European countries. The Silicon Valley has become what it is because in the early days of the electronics industry the concerns about "IP" were minimal, every new discovery was published and it spread quickly among all companies located there. Then gradually the "IP" protection has increased, the competition has diminished more and more and the pace of innovation has slowed down proportionally. It is extremely rare that those who have the original idea for a patent are also able to discover the follow-up innovations that are necessary to convert an idea into a successful product. There are very numerous examples of patents which have been almost never used in anything useful as long as they were valid, but immediately after expiration many companies were able to make good products based on them.