This. Intellectual property includes not only patents but trade secrets. For many companies, especially smaller ones, it can make more sense to hold secrets close rather than disclosing them in a patent. Big companies violate patents all the time, and if you’re going to enforce one, you better have at least $10M in the bank to defend it or the big company will just wait you out.
Of course, that’s exactly opposite what the patent system was supposed to accomplish. Just another thing on the list of systemic change we need to make, and nowhere near the top.
