How to respond to the following question?

I am going to share a situation with you and the class.There was a very creative employee on campus that invented a device that would prevent the theft of projectors in the classrooms.For some reason, there was a rash of projector thefts across campus, and the thieves could not be caught.The idea that he came up with was genius.Well, he had to meet with our General Counsel for advice on getting the device patented as well as other legalities.The process began to take so long that he became frustrated and untrusting with the administration because he felt someone was trying to steal his idea.I felt so bad for the employee and soon after he resigned.We lost an excellent employee.What are your thoughts on this? Could the structure have been better to support this employee?