Absolutely. James Watt didn't invent steam engine but came up with an innovative design that gave him a big advantage. He based this on other, unpatented, technologies. Then he sued the living day lights out of all his competitors and if argue prevented innovation for years.
Unpatented? Not quite. Savery's patent (which Newcomen licensed because it would last longer than any he could have gotten himself) had long since expired, and Boulton and Watt had to work around Pickard's patent on the crank (!) using planetary gears.
