Tallplumbers "are we there yet" thread, page-47

So a patent could be granted years before a suitable solution is engineered and brought to market. Sometimes lodged in the hope to simply keep others out, or on the chance someone else develops a solution and the patent holder can claim the invention and negotiate a share of profits

You are absolutely correct with this Gerrado, I have had experience of this happening in real life with a supplier to a company that I used to work for and they made multiple millions of dollars for patenting something that was just a configuration of products in an assembly that the whole industry used, even when it was another suppliers product being used.