The linked article takes us from a time of cameras that used film to essentially where we are now- using digital cameras. Steven Sasson was basically given a job "that would keep him out of trouble." During this time, he started working on inventing the digital camera for Kodak. The idea was initially somewhat shut down because Kodak was afraid that digital would take the place of film. The first patent for the camera came in 1978. Since, the company has profited enormously from the invention and we now only know a life of taking digital pictures. Imagine if we still had to take a picture with a camera that uses film!
Also, imagine if the camera from 1978 did not have a patent. Anyone could have taken Steven's idea and used it for their own good to profit off of. Instead, a patent was filed that protected the product and the intellectual property behind it. This goes to show the importance of a patent! Over the lifetime of the digital camera, what was once just an idea, has become an entire empire centered around technology.