If you've come up with a great new widget, process or material, you may be thinking about patenting it.  This is something you can do yourself, but there are some pretty good reasons not to.  A lot of it boils down to money: how much do you have now, and how much do you think your idea will be worth later?  It's expensive to have a patent application prepared -- a lawyer may charge $5,000 to $10,000 for the work (depending on the complexity of the invention and the obscurity of the subject area).  But that's not the end of the cost!

On the other hand, a patent covering an important new technology (or a useful improvement to an existing technology) can be tremendously valuable.  A patent allows the inventor to control access to the technology for many years.  If your invention could save a manufacturer 10¢ per widget, then it's easy to see how much it's worth -- you just multiply the annual production volume by the savings.  If you're willing to license your patent for less than what the manufacturer could save, it's a no-brainer for the manufacturer.  And if your invention is a way to do something everybody wants, but nobody else has figured out, then you can write your own ticket  -- but only if your patent is broad enough and strong enough to withstand the efforts of bright people who are motivated by almost as much money as you're asking for your patent.  It's just business: if you want a million dollars for your patent, then someone who can figure out a workaround for $750K is going to consider doing that instead of writing a check to you.