I think the reason the success rate is low is because most inventors don't have enough cash to get their ideas off the ground or they are intrinsically not good at marketing their ideas. Due to the high labor and manufacturing costs in this country compared to China, you have to be a millionaire to even get a good prototype made! Whereas in China you can go next door to a plastic factory, just spend a few hundred bucks, then your product is ready for the marketplace. In this country there are just too many environmental, manufacturing, local standards, and other governmental restrictions that prevents a middle class person from taking the next step after spending all his hard earned money on the patenting phase. So most of the patents become idled and therefore they languish in the patents abyss because the concept cannot be tested in the marketplace. For a product to attain success the consumers must have a chance to use it and the feedback can be used to improve or redesign the product. Obviously these things cost bucko money but sadly inventors are not adept at raising capital and our government is of no help either.