The next time someone tells you that patents are a waste of time, consider this.
The US Patent Office issued patent number 8,000,000 to Greenberg, et al. for a sight enhancement invention for people with retinal degeneration in August 2011.
The US Patent Office issued patent number 1 in 1836. It took three quarters of a century (in 1911) for the US Patent Office to issue patent number one million. Nearly another quarter century later (in 1935), the US Patent Office issued patent number two million. Another quarter century (in 1961), the US Patent Office issued patent number three million. The US Patent Office issued patent number 4,000,000 in 1976; and patent number 5,000,000 in 1991. Patent number 6,000,000 issued in 1999, and patent number 7,000,000 issued in 2006.
It only took 5 years for the US Patent Office to issue patent number 8,000,000 in 2011.
Apparently, someone thinks patents are important. And if you’re not patenting your idea, chances are, someone else is patenting their inventions.