What benefits are there in obtaining a patent?

1. LEGAL RELIEF:  The most obvious advantage of obtaining a patent is the ability to sue someone for infringing your patent (note that the Statute of Limitations for bringing a patent infringement suit is six years from the date that the infringing activity occurs).  If you are successful in this patent infringement suit, you will receive a judgment against that party for compensatory (monetary) damages.  Additionally, if you can prove at trial that the infringing party acted “willfully” (they were aware of your patent, they believed their activity might be infringing your patent, and yet decided to engage in the activity anyway) you may be entitled to enhanced damages as well.
2. EQUITABLE RELIEF:  You may also ask the court to enjoin the infringing party from committing any more infringing activity.  An “injunction” is essentially a court order requiring the enjoined party to halt its activity or else face charges of contempt (punishable by fines, or in some cases, jail time).   
3. DIRECT LICENSING:  As soon as you become aware of potentially infringing activity, you can send a cease and desist letter demanding that the alleged infringer pay you a license fee for the continued use of your patented technology, or otherwise risk an infringement suit.  In some cases, parties who feel that their business activity might be infringing your patents will approach you to negotiate a license instead of risking an infringement suit later.
4.  CROSS LICENSING:  If you are threatened by another company with a patent infringement suit unless you pay them a license fee, having your own patent portfolio can potentially tip the scales back in your favor.  For example, if a company claims you are potentially infringing three of their patents, and you subsequently discover that their company is potentially infringing three of your patents, some cross-licensing agreement can usually be made.  This is usually a better arrangement than having to write a large check to the company demanding the license fee, or otherwise trying to defend yourself from this company in court.  This is because even if you successfully defend your actions in court, you will likely still wind up with substantial attorney fees (defending a patent infringement lawsuit can often take over a year in court and in some instances, can result in millions of dollars in legal fees). 
5. RAISING INVESTMENT MONIES/VENTURE CAPITAL:   With a patent portfolio, you may find it substantially easier to raise monies from investors/venture capitalists.  This is because investors/venture capitalists frequently feel more comfortable funding your business if they know that you have already secured (or at least applied for) patents on the technology that is relevant to your particular business venture.  Applying for a patent not only shows them that you are serious about your idea, but also that some intellectual property value is held by your company (i.e., this intellectual property will be listed as an asset on your company’s balance sheet). 
6. MARKETING:  Many consumers (mistakenly) believe that if a product or process has been awarded a patent from the United States Patent & Trademark Office, that patent is proof that the product or process is somehow “effective.”  In actuality, being awarded a patent only proves that the product has been found by an Examiner to be novel and non-obvious over prior technology.  Even still, since many consumers today continue to associate “patented” with “effective,” being able to say that your product or process is “patented” may help you in advertising and marketing your product or service to the consuming public.
7. SALE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:  Patents are alienable/transferrable, and so in most cases, you can sell issued patents (and even patent applications which have not yet issued) to parties who are willing to purchase them.  Thus, patents provide a way for inventors to make money on their invention without actually manufacturing the product or entering into business for themselves.