As the market evolves, the applicant may still be able to respond to competitive actions if by tying any advancements back to the initial specifications. The publication of an idea can immediately make the invention unpatentable in most foreign countries. In the US, after the date of publication, a company has 1 year to file a patent on the subject matter or lose the rights to the idea. The patent examiners search for the existence of prior art in areas related to an invention and use its existence as a basis for disallowing a patent on that invention due to lack of novelty. The end result is that publication results in making an invention ineligible for patent protection.
Many companies do it regularly and deliberately to defend their core technologies.
Let s say a company has been issued a patent on a technology core to their business. They have continued building on the technology and continue to find useful and innovative concepts, many of them likely patentable. They are concerned, however because every change in the landscape creates opportunities for others. Their patent likely has not gone unnoticed by their competitors, who are probably actively seeking ways to get into that same technology market. These competitors may build upon their basic idea and get new patents on the next generation.