"NO FORTUNE 50 COMPANY WOULD ENTER INTO A PIOLT PROGRAM AND SIGN NDA'S UNLESS PATENT PROTECTION WAS IN PLACE, AGREED?"
Huh? Why would it hinge on patents? Any company, large or small, is happy to evaluate potential competitive or beneficial technology... AND IT IS EVEN BETTER IF THAT TECHNOLOGY IS NOT PATENTED!
Signing NDA's is too commonly used as an excuse in the penny world! I have signed many NDA's in my life... and they mean very little. Just a formality when technology companies talk with each other! I have signed NDA's with some of the biggest tech companies out there. I can assure you that companies like Intel sign a dozen NDA's every day... and nothing ever comes of the vast majority of them!