On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:30:39 GMT, BobH
wrote:


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.

Why? The $500 or $1K was an "award" or honorarium for assigning
rights to said to your employer. Defending it is then his problem. If
he needs your help, he should pay for your time and services like he
does for any other time and services.

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.

I'm seeing more gimmewhine than professional here. Signing with the
military in peacetime or anytime conveys obligations as well as
benefits. Well duh! The military does not exist primarily to provide
college benefits. It exists to defend the nation against enemies
foreign and domestic. There is never a guarantee that there won't be
any enemies around during your service period. Pick yer pony, take
yer ride.

If your employer wants your professional services to help defend his
patent, fine. If he doesn't, that's his choice.

Part of being a professional is being ready to move at any time. The
alternative is becoming an indentured servant in exchange for an
illusion of security. Having to move can certaintly be very
inconvenient and expensive. In my case, clear willingness to do it
if and when necessary always made it unnecessary.

It would take singularly stupid management to **** off their most
prolific inventors, but there's no shortage of stupid management and
that does seem to be getting worse. My experience is dated, having
been retired for 9 years now.