Patents as you describe them simply reward the first party to encounter a particular problem and apply the obvious solution. It's all well and good to say that the USPTO is "getting better" at recognizing what claims are acceptable in a patent, but the reality is that the examiner has no real incentive to apply any sort of quality ethic. By the time anyone challenges his/her work in court, it will be somebody else's problem.

A few moments' thought should lead one to the realization that productive engineers have much more to lose from patents than they could ever stand to gain. Even the most creative among us consumes a thousand times more than we create.