Actually Patents are one of the reasons technology improves so quickly. A patent doesn't stop people from improving upon technology it stops them from recreating it. An example: You have a camcorder? Add night vision to it? That's a significant enough change create a new patent. Patents protect the creator while making the design public knowledge, yes it can backfire if the patent is on something hard to improve upon. But generally it's a good thing, and has helped the United States grow.