alt Hacker NewsThis sounds like it is working as intended. The patent comes early in the process to protect all the commercialization investment. Patents are intended to be filed early in the process, and they gain value as the invention proves its worth. Note also that you can patent a mining claim before pulling a single precious gem or mineral out of the ground.
Well, the way you describe it, they protect investors, not inventors. Investors do not need protection. Money are abundant, market can solve the commercialization part efficiently.