As an inventor who has had his digital mapping work stolen and has won in full up-jury trial (against Garmin) for at least one of the thefts (of two patents issued in 1993 and 1994), I can say thefts do occur. Based on my own experience, IP theft occurs more frequently than inventors can afford to prove in court. Justice is a massive failure of the system we have. And it got much worse when "they" fixed the patent system in the early 2000s.
So I have long adopted the advice of one of my lawyers. "You can choose to spend your life with lawyers or with the work you love." I chose, and choose, the latter. But I do still file copyrights and patents even though the system is totally a mess inhabited by greedy corrupt people who have chosen the former.
One of my early inventions around 1982 (a printed circuit board artwork and item defect scanner) was successful until copied as my patent was ignored, and my lawyers said I needed to put down $50,000 I did not have to sue the offender (a large US company). They even admitted it to my face. My lawyers wanted the up front because they said these guys had a reputation for this kind of theft and it would cost a lot to even try to sue them.
That said, the most successful competitor to my device was simultaneously invented in Israel. I later met the inventor at a conference where we were both showing our device. We told each other the inner workings of our devices and agreed that when there were 50/50 engineering choices, it was clear our random choices were indeed random. Neither of us knew about the other's work in doing the design. From this, and later work, I concluded, and have long since said, that when inventions are ready to be invented, the Earth is large, and the likelihood is high they will be near simultaneously invented.
That said, that independent Israeli invention was funded by the US Government, pretty clearly. It shows again, how the US system does not protect US inventors. Just like corporate systems do not properly protect inventors. Again greed wins over fairness. I paid taxes for the IP lawyer fools and thieves that inhabit the alien IP worlds we live in , the Israelis did not pay US taxes for their US backing of their inventions (at least until they went public on NASDAQ).
The inventors and creators often just lose and the system fails them in many many ways. More often than not, I believe. The law makers are either stupid or complacent, as are the corporations, and the lawyers. I think a bit, if not a lot, of both.
But inventing completely new things is fun. See my latest www.liecourt.com and my articles protected by copyright, design and utility patents at https://www.medium.com/liecatcher. In my hope of justice improving. You'll see. The Internet Court of Lies will be popular, fun, and successful some day. (No one goes to jail or gets sued.) And more important, will do more good getting at the truth behind our suspicions of fiat lies than the stupid and greedy people want to abide.
