[mchannon]

Patents are supposed to be worth something, though many are for things that would never work and could never have worked- many of Thomas Edison's patents would have never worked by his own admission.

You can sell your widget whether you have it patented or not; all the patent does is ensure other people can't sell a knockoff widget without incurring some legal liability.

Likewise, selling widgets based on your idea and making money from your idea aren't causally related.