Crazy patents

[HiTech]

Gee and I thought Mexican food was the hottest on the planet. I would've never expected chili to be a common food in Thailand. I can understand the bit about cabbage... it works on my digestive system in such a manner that I could potentially fill a hot air balloon!

 

[Mikebits]

Gee and I thought Mexican food was the hottest on the planet. I would've never expected chili to be a common food in Thailand. I can understand the bit about cabbage... it works on my digestive system in such a manner that I could potentially fill a hot air balloon!

You should go to a Thai restaurant. Ooh that's a one spicy meatball.

 

[Speakerguy]

My brother is a Harvard law graduate and a top notch intellectual property attorney. He's told me that the best thing for an individual who manages to patent something worthwhile to do is to sell it to the highest bidder. As part of his practice they always ask the question if it is cheaper to buy the patent or bankrupt the patent holder in litigation.For doing such a noble job he's rewarded with almost 300k/year. God bless the USA.

 

[Mikebits]

Well earned paycheck I should think. The IP attorney that spoke to my class had a masters in biochem and a law degree. Not easy to get and a lot of school. Good for your brother

 

[killivolt]

My brother is a Harvard law graduate and a top notch intellectual property attorney. He's told me that the best thing for an individual who manages to patent something worthwhile to do is to sell it to the highest bidder. As part of his practice they always ask the question if it is cheaper to buy the patent or bankrupt the patent holder in litigation.For doing such a noble job he's rewarded with almost 300k/year. God bless the USA.

The nail that stands up is pounded down.

Sometimes it's just like gambling so whoever can hold out the longest wins. That is if it's in a fair game.

In this case if the patentable Idea is really worth it. You might end up dead ?

But still in the case of the other device in previous post's reminds me of the water filtering suit used in the Movie "Dune".

kv

 

[Boncuk]

Here is the story about a non-patented device which lead to the bankrupt of a competitor:

Woods of Colchester Ltd. (UK) developed a variable pitch fan with a minimum of mechanical parts. The blades consist of an aluminum alloy cast around a steel bolt which holds the lever to change pitch angle via collective drive which is activated by low air pressure (1.72psi) and a diaphragm.

NOVENCO (Norway) copied the fan and had some severe damage when running the fans. More and more customers complained about lost blades (the aluminum separated from the steel bolt) and heavy damage in the machine an in the machine's vicinity. So Novenco sold the fans with a spare wheel.

The problem nulled after five years.

Keep one part of your invention absolutely secret and you won't require a patent. (In that particular case the aluminum alloy was cast using centrifugal force.)

Boncuk

 

[Mikebits]

Keep one part of your invention absolutely secret and you won't require a patent. (In that particular case the aluminum alloy was cast using centrifugal force.)

Very true. Coca Cola never applied for a patent on their coke formula. Today's science would enable someone to crack the formula but competing against this beverage giant would be futile.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

Don Lancasters case against patents
Guru's Lair: Patent Avoidance Library

 

[Speakerguy]

Well earned paycheck I should think. The IP attorney that spoke to my class had a masters in biochem and a law degree. Not easy to get and a lot of school. Good for your brother

He busts his ass no doubt, and I don't begrudge him it, but the fact our society rewards such activities so lavishly is something of a moral morass.

He would have been an equally good doctor or engineer, but he wouldn't have made as much money.

 

[Hero999]

Patents are both good and bad.

On the one hand they provide an incentive to innovation.

The disadvantage is that once something is patented, other people can't improve the idea (without paying royalties) until the patent expires.

 

[Mikebits]

He busts his ass no doubt, and I don't begrudge him it, but the fact our society rewards such activities so lavishly is something of a moral morass.

He would have been an equally good doctor or engineer, but he wouldn't have made as much money.

If you consider what the company tends to gain or not lose by a competently written patent. The money is well spent.
When a pharma company invest $1 billion in a drug you can bet they don't want their idea to be used by others for the lifetime of the patent. The IP lawyers have to be very careful and clever in how they write the patent to protect the design.
$300k a year to protect a $1billion investment seems like a fair trade. If the patent is flawed and a workaround is found, I am sure the lawyer will be looking for a new job. No pressure

 

[jbeng]

He would have been an equally good doctor or engineer, but he wouldn't have made as much money.

I don't know about that. Recently, I required a root canal to save one of my molars and my regular dentist sent me to a endodontist, a root canal specialist. I went for my appointment and was in and out in about an hour, with the actual procedure taking about 25-30 minutes. His fee was $900US. Assuming he does two of these per hour, eight hours a day, in a four-day workweek with four weeks off per year, he grosses over $2.7 million US. I expect he's laughing all the way to the bank.
I think I missed my calling.

 

[tcmtech]

$300K Sounds like allot but in reality its not that much on the grand scale. Sure its ten times what I make on the average, but I know of a few local business owners that inherited the company from daddy and are paid far more than the $300K a year just to keep them away from the company!

I worked a short time for one of those companies. After getting to see what the dumb-ass did when he was in the office, I quickly realized that they pay him so much literally just to keep him away!
It was in the best interest of the employees and customers. Seriously!

 

[Boncuk]

I worked a short time for one of those companies. After getting to see what the dumb-ass did when he was in the office, I quickly realized that they pay him so much literally just to keep him away!
It was in the best interest of the employees and customers. Seriously!

Hehe,

reminds me to my father. My youngest brother (two left hands with thumbs only) wanted to join the company to make it more efficient. My father rejected and suggested: "Apply for a job at my competitor's. There you can you do everything in your power to help your father's factory.