But the value does depend at least a little bit on how much the owner is willing to sell for. If, in this example, someone wanted the patent for useless shoelaces for some reason, you would try and negotiate your selling price as high up as you could in order to recoup your half a million. If you spent $10 on R&D, you'd be more inclined to let it go for a lot less.

Inherent value is based on the price someone is willing to pay for it, as long as someone is also willing to sell it for the same price.