My uncle invented a new type of sprinkler. It's perhaps not groundbreaking but it was significantly better than anything on the market that time. If not patenting it then how do you suggest he went about making money out of it? He have invented that thing in his garage over quite a few years of tinkering, it's not like he had the capital to build a factory to mass produce it. No, he patented it, went to the manufacturer, sold it, and everyone was happy. Yes, even the manufacturer was happy because the R&D costs to create a product that much better than the competitors would've been much higher. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved.