Likewise, how does this relate to other people researching the same things as you are?

Did we have a Q&A about this? (at work and can't look up the Q&A's)

No easy feat in today's economy, where ideas travel much further than IP enforcement does.

Can't imagine how midieval game environment could do even half as well. A monarch who prioritizes it may have some impact within borders--at an enormous cost in legal overhead. If having an object permits a skillled someone to reverse-engineer it--I would expect that patent to be worthless once the new widget crosses a Kingdom border.

If reverse-engineering isn't available, then guard those recipes with care! Secrecy will be your own best IP protection.

There was a thread similar to this earlier this week, but its up to us as players to enforce them, and how that will look.

As for how you would know, if you patent something, it's in your best interest to patent something that's feasible to track. Armor types with your seal, new weapon schematics that are noticeably different. A forge that can smelt new metals. If you try to patent your exclusive bread recipe, its going to be harder.

As for research, its probably going to be similar to real life. You patent the result of the research before competition, then they A) illegally produce what you patent or B) buy a license to do so from you.

Even in the real world a patent in one country doesn't necessarily exist in another. One country for example could find a piece of technology patented in another and just make it without repercussions if the countries have no treaty in regards to patents. So within your own Kingdom it may be a case of you need to speak to your count or Duke or even Monarch to deal with patent abuse. in other Kingdoms however it may require the opening of diplomatic channels and agreements being made whereby the other Kingdom will clamp down on the use of your patents in exchange for something from your Kingdom.

Patents only work because they are supported by laws. So if there's no legal framework in a kingdom or in the game for patents, then everyone is on their own and trying to monopolize technology by threatening competitors would be called organized crime.

I think you need to look at this from a historical/ game perspective. Parents never really existed because building was dependant on skill. So in order to patent something you need to limit to who knows it and limit it's production knowledge or who you sell too.

A patent is only as enforceable as the lawyers you can afford. It's a sentiment in the business world, adopt it for low fantasy environment.