As an objection to the patent laws, some people cite the fact that two
inventors may work independently for years on the same invention, but one will
beat the other to the patent office by an hour or a day and will acquire an
exclusive monopoly, while the loser’s work will then be totally wasted. This
type of objection is based on the error of equating the potential with the
actual. The fact that a man might have been first, does not alter the fact
that he wasn’t. Since the issue is one of commercial rights, the loser in a
case of that kind has to accept the fact that in seeking to trade with others
he must face the possibility of a competitor winning the race, which is true of
all types of competition.