There is room for more

When Coca-Cola came up with a formula for carbonated drink, they patented it and moved on to create other drinks from this prototype. They did not sit on a laurel, they used the original to come up with "what if" scenario. Henry Ford did not come up with the first automobile, but he revolutionized the industry by creating assembly lines for mass production. You may not need to come up with an original prototype, but to tweak what is there for efficiency, etc,.

McDonald's did not come up with the first idea for a hamburger, but they created a uniform franchise system and sold franchises to willing entrepreneurs. Other fast food chains started mushrooming--Taco Bells, Burger King, Subway to mention a few. All these alternatives to McDonald's could have cried foul because someone else has started a fast food chain , therefore there is nothing left for us. A little ingenuity of the same product packaged differently or cooked slightly differently, offered variable appetite choices to go by. There is room for more ingenuity.