Williams, Intellectual property attorney, 21
[Jeff, August 17, 2021, Law Office of Jeff Williams, “Do Patents create Monopolies or Innovation?”, https://www.txpatentattorney.com/blog/do-patents-create-monopolies-or-innovation/#:~:text=Accordingly%2C%20patents%20rarely%20grant%20true,the%20very%20definition%20of%20'property, Accessed: 7-7-24, AngH]
Accordingly, it is rare for any inventor or even company to hold a true monopoly simply because they hold a patent. Where there is no market, no monopoly can exist.
The fact is that most patents are never commercialized. Many that are commercialized end up losing money because not enough interested customers are found. Accordingly, patents rarely grant true monopolies.
The one-time chief judge for the United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit once wrote: “Nowhere in any statute is a patent described as a monopoly. The patent right is but the right to exclude others, the very definition of ‘property.’”
Despite the rumors that occasionally may circulate, it is virtually impossible for any patent to completely lock up a particular market space. This is because truly foundational technologies that are of the utmost importance to that market are rare. Most patents instead are directed to incremental improvements or advances, which means that patent rights can be quite fragile.