In the past year or so, inventors and start-up companies have taken to Kickstarter to fund production of their inventions and to get their businesses off the ground.

FORBES: Connect

Our patent system has long ensured that inventors are rewarded for their productive labors, and that investors and firms are rewarded for their labors in taking inventions from the laboratory or garage, and converting them into innovative products and services used by consumers.

FORBES: Policy Debates On Patents Should Focus On Facts, Not Rhetoric

Patent law gives inventors the exclusive rights to use or license their inventions, for a fixed period of time, to encourage disclosure and allow them to benefit from and recoup the cost of their invention.

FORBES: Apple v. Samsung: The Rights To Rectangles