George was a pirate, but he wasn’t a very good pirate.
What little he knew about piracy, he wrote down and applied for a patent.
Oddly enough, the Patent Office approved his application.
He then sued every pirate in the world and demanded royalties.
A few pirates signed licensing agreements with George, and they could continue to engage in piracy if they helped to hunt down those who didn’t sign agreements.
Eventually, the rogue pirates banded together, hired a big law firm, and got the patent overturned.
Pirates once again sailed the seas.
Except George, because he was blacklisted industry-wide.