you must be able to keep others from taking the results of your efforts. If, for example, you could not improve a piece of property and keep the benefits for yourself, our modern society or even a primitive agricultural one would not be possible.
Our work takes many forms and so does the nature of rights associated with it. But one thing is clear. If people will not do a kind of work we value without having their rights to the results protected, than it is necessary to do so.
But we should not hand out rights if "we" aren't getting something of real value in return.
One problem is that "we" the people have far too little say about how our interests are defined and promoted by the lobbyists who have the most influence over what government does. The collective right to make such deals with innovators has been captured by private interests.