Can you point me to the government grant program that requires patents as part of the application process? That is potentially very concerning. I would be interested to learn more.
It's a Canadian tech grant; non-dilluting - and they don't explicitly specify it is a requirement, but from the rep directly working for the program and anyone who I've talked to who has applied to the program your chances of getting the grant are basically zero if there is no IP. Coincidentally, they have another smaller grant you can apply for that goes direct to a service provider of your choice; and basically they suggest you use this first to pay for a law firm to get a patent started and then apply for the larger grant thereafter.
I've personally witnessed venture capital firms requiring patent filings as a prerequisite for funding. An acquaintance of mine once worked for a startup where the team was diverted from product development to ideation on patentable processes. The focus was less on innovation and more on creating a unique claim to secure funding, which I find misguided.
The VC, instead of nurturing the inventive process, largely contributed to the crafting of a patent application. The objective was to design it in such a way that it was cryptic and as widely applicable as possible. Despite its questionable practices, the patent was approved, leading to the subsequent funding of the startup.
However, the market didn't respond well to the idea, necessitating a pivot. Meanwhile, there were other companies independently pursuing similar ideas. They could have invested significant time and resources, unaware that they were infringing on an existing patent. It's a speculative guess, but I can't help but wonder if the VC fund is vigilantly searching for successful implementations of the patented idea, ready to initiate lawsuits for patent infringement. This illustrates the potential misuse of patents, which, rather than fostering innovation, sometimes stifle it.