As anyone who has gone thru the process can tell you, having a patent, and defending it, are two different things.

When I first started to design my kilts I pulled up Steve V's Patent. (I hate copying anyone), and found that it coveres mostly stuff no one has ever bothered to patent before, but that is in the public realm for many years.

The pleating system has been done before. Matt Newsome can attest to that.