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Registered Member #3766
Joined: Sun Mar 20 2011, 05:39AM
Location:
Posts: 624
Yea, then that can always happen. My dad had it happen a couple decades ago, woke up one day with a house, a new car, no job, and zero money coming in. now it's going to happen again. it's just a matter of when (because it's that or move to chicago with no pay raise... no way).
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
I always wanted to do this, and I ended up working for several startup companies who had ideas for new products. Most of them were flops, but if you find a niche you can do very nicely. I've built a lot of weird stuff that I could never have imagined, and it has paid the bills.
It is almost never worthwhile for a lone inventor to get a patent. Read Don Lancaster's Case Against Patents. It overstates the case a little, but the basic premise is true: a patent is expensive, but worthless unless you also have a highly paid and rabid pack of lawyers ready to be loosed on infringers.
Overall I think working in R&D within a smallish company is a good compromise. You have the legal protection and funding, and also sales engineers doing market research and finding out if anyone actually wants to buy your new mousetrap. And if you're lucky, money for patents and lawyers, though even many small companies can't afford that.
Registered Member #3766
Joined: Sun Mar 20 2011, 05:39AM
Location:
Posts: 624
I GOT IT! Provide a cheap service that prevents people from patent infringer's! Spread the cost of the lawyers out over a whole bunch of upstart inventors!
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(un)realistic career aspirations
