Why wouldn't they be able to profit from it? Didn't humanity profit immensely from creations before intellectual property was invented some three hundred years ago? Like with ships. Or windmills. You're not seriously suggesting people weren't able to profit from their creations prior to intellectual property? Or even that people nowadays necessarily have the ability to profit from their own creations, when in reality everyone who isn't a big company just gets bullied with lawsuits until the comply. Lawsuits can ruin you, even if you're in the right.