Patents are expensive, and it's a long drawn out process to get one.
It's a minefield and if someone changes one 'technicality' of your patent.. you have no case.
Also chasing patents worldwide... well if you want grey hairs before you're 30.. fine.
Say BO patented the barge thing.. then Space-X would just launch from out of the USA.. and land in international waters.... this is going to be fun.
I came up with a ingenious idea (so I thought).. did a patent search only to find about 20 patents on the same concept (BO's story is a concept).. I didn't pursue the idea, and still hold it close to my chest (I should talk to Richard Branson sometime :rofl
.
After closer scrutiny of the whole patenting system, I came to the conclusion that is was not worth it. If you have a product.. produce/sell it en masse for 5 years or so, then move onto the next idea. China will catch it and bring a cheaper version onto the market... so make your money while you can. If you can outdo the Chinese competition (they're not good at reproducing everything).. good for you.
Here's local a story ..
Plessey SA were developing the Tellurometer (microwave version I think it was) for the surveying industry. They patented it worlwide (big $$$) before is was actually ready. A problem developed that they could not get the required accuracy.. so the CEO and accountants shelved the project, against the advice of the developers.
The developers (a doctor and professor in microwave technologies - with whom I worked - a different company) broke away from Plessey and formed their own small company. They solved the problem and implemented it by changing components (resistors :facepalm
on the original pcb's.. then started selling the product.
Naturally the CEO at Plessey flew off the handle and started a patent lawsuit.
The developers laughed and over the 2 years of the lawsuit, flooded the market with the device. The lawsuit failed for Plessey on the grounds of component changes to the pcb. They made their money.
I think they eventually came to a deal.. the CEO
disappeared a year or two later.