Overview of the patent system:

The patent covers an invention, and the patent applicant can get monopoly of the use of the invention for a limited time. He can then force others to not use the invention or license it, of his own choosing.

The bitcoin name can not be patented, and also copyright is a fundamentally different thing.

The patent office will only consider the form of the patent application. The basic content of the application is a list of claims, ordered from the most wide claim. The real invention (what the applicant thinks) can be a claim low on the list. Then he adds some more limited claims lower on the list just in case his most valueable claim is shot down. Above his real claim, he will add broader claims (may be he is lucky). The first claim is almost always way to wide. I is not neccessary that the applicant was the first inventor, that has to be decided in the court.

Before the application is accepted and registered, there is nothing. When an application is accepted, it is possible to approach possible lincensees. At that point the applicant has spent some money, and more is needed to register it worldwide. But for real gain on the patent, it has to go through the court system. When the first legal victory is secured, the patent may have some value.

The existence of a patent can put off some small competitors, this is of course negative for competition. On the other hand, patents can also protect a smaller inventor company from bigger fish, who might capitalize on the invention and out-compete the inventor. Patents can be sold, enabling the inventor to get some money without the hazzle and risk of defending it.