I actually temped at the front desk of the Patent Office library at the new HQ in Alexandria several years ago.
Quite an inspiring foyer, unfortunately there’s more money made in the much-advertised-on-TV industry designed to fleece the would-be inventor. I have a friend who is a patent researcher, he tells me the system is stacked against the little guy with the Big Idea. You actually have a revolutionary invention, chances are it will be stolen from you and you’ll die in poverty with those many others.
True, just like the guy that sold bill gates the first operating system. His check was 65000, bills was for 65billion.
I have two friends that had that happen. Filing a patent is often an invitation to either get it stolen, or get sued by some company that filed a bunch of bogus ones in the hope that someone would make it work.