If you can keep something secret, why would you bother patenting it? I think that the most important secondary effect is that it puts all inventions on a more

If you can keep something secret, why would you bother patenting it? I think that the most important secondary effect is that it puts all inventions on a more of less level playing field. Inventions that can't be kept secret due to practical limitations(like the cotton gin, or the steam engine) are just as valuable as inventions that can be hidden (computer programs, chemical processes, etc.)