I've been wondering this. It seems that, they were the right model, back in The Day. Back then, what you had (in my model) was a few inventors, cash-strapped or with wealthy benefactors, and they wanted to protect their inventions. Poor inventors, in other words.
I imagine that, back in the day, with smaller government and regulations, and everything 'cheaper' even 'litigating' the case would have been achievable for such poor inventors. In such a scenario, the patent could be a tool of the tiny against the behemoth exploiter (ye olde robbere barron). Ie, true protection.
These days however? Not so much. To litigate takes years and millions, effectively denying the protection to those who could most benefit from it. The "high bar" to protect your protection creates an incentive where you see conglomerates emerge that use that cost to coerce settlements, and make a business out of it by purchasing many such supposedly 'protective amulets'.
It's also a good model for the 'protective amulet forging guilt' (ie, lawyers). Who will often tell you, "Have you considered a patent? We can help if you choose to go that route."
But is the patent, once so lauded, useful and genuine - really the right model for protection today? Could it be reformed? Or should it be relegated to the past? Like mint coin collections of yesteryear - now without real value, except for collectors and traders (ye olde patent trollus).
I don't know. Thoughts, anyone? Especially valuable I think would be personal experience and the thoughts gained from that, as well as any big picture reflections.