Support for free software is actually one the most thriving segment of IT.
Besides a few huge companies (like IBM), there are many local companies that
sell such a support: you have somebody to blame, face to face, far more
easily than with proprietary software (especially if built abroad) and its
imposed monopoly for support (well, support that actually involves source
code modification, like correcting bugs).
About the term "Intellectual Property", please read
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html
Having patents on software makes no sense. Most of the world (China, India,
the EU, Brazil, etc.) does not authorize them. Free software is based on the
copyright law: licenses (such as the GNU GPL) protect it. I see nothing
wrong with trademarks (as long as the trademark policy does not impose
restrictions that have little to do with identifying the product). Many free
software programs are actually trademarked: Linux, Firefox, etc.
