Don Foreman wrote:
On Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:54:44 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:


At the same time this guy made the invention of his life - a timer to
control a motor, real inventors and creative engineers were at work
creating the SR-71 blackbird - something so advance and creative it
probably included a 1000 items more noteworthy than this timer, and none of
the engineers creating all those inventions every day expected to get
anything in return except another day's pay.
True, with the type of contracts they have to sign to get work
nowadays. That's truly sad, too. The better companies share the
wealth and/or fame with their more inspired workers. THAT is the way
it should be, at least in most instances.

It's always been thus at many or most large companies: in the "fine
print" of the job application, it says that anything one thinks of, on
or off the job, belongs to the company. In practice, that only
applies to ideas relevant to the company's business: companies don't
go after a guy who designs engines during the day and invents new
fishing lures hoops nights and weekends.

My employer paid $1 for each patent filed back in the day. That was
later increased to $1500 per patent.

I never knew an engineer or scientist who felt shorted by this
approach. Engineers are paid to innovate and invent. It's part of
their job.

My employer paid $500 or $1k and I never felt shorted during the
process, but 5 years later when the subpoena to defend the a patent that
had been sold to a bunch of litigous trolls showed up 4 days before
Christmas, I was way less than pleased. After spending a couple of days
preparing and giving deposition, I felt distinctly screwed on that $500
or $1k.

Filing patents for your employer is a lot like signing up for the
military in peacetime for their college benefits. You may get what you
expected, but you may wind up getting a completely different education,
at a time you did not expect.

BobH