Contractfor license can replace copyright, Trademark can be replaced with common law impersonization restraints, but the concept of patents are a giant mess.

Patent enables nothing other than lawfare, the one with the biggest pocket book always wins. In order to get a patent, you need to disclose what could be a trade secret. Even if the rightful patent holder wins in court, the more monied business will pay for an engineering solution to work around the patent. In the end, the idea of a patenting an invention boils down to a game of cat and mouse.