I ran into this article today arguing why Patents are a wonderful thing because they reward inventors in a big way and spur more innovation.
I could not disagree more with the author.
Patents reward a whole industry of middlemen way more than the inventors who create them.
Only in rare cases do inventors make big gains. This happens when they have/acquire the business skills needed to translate their invention into commercial success. Someone like Larry Page (quoted in the article) would fall in this category.
The common case is that the inventor receives a small if any reward for his/her invention and the maximum benefit goes to corporate managers, investors and/or lawyers (of course, if it is worth anything in the first place). If the invention is a commercial success, investors and managers reap the rewards. If the invention is used to sue, lawyers reap the rewards.
Inventors are typically driven by passion, the passion to create. On the other hand, Patents are driven by greed, nothing but greed.