Facts About Inventors

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Facts About Inventors

• Jerry Banks
• Creativity and Innovation

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Facts about Inventors

• USA Today
• 1990
• Sample size 966

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65 made no money from their patens

• No or little marketing for most patents
• Patent process is expensive
• Patent rights dont exclude others
• Suing a firm with deep pockets is expensive
• Mr. Kearns and the intermittent wipers

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Average returns were about 81,000 given that
there were earnings

• They arent becoming wealthy

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Necessity is rarely the mother of invention

• Money is the main motivator!

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Less than 1/5th of the patents were assigned to
individuals

• Most are assigned to corporations
• Products of the intellect are owned by the firm

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50 of patents go to foreigners

• Obtain a patent in most every industrialized
  nation

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More than 6 million patents have been issued

• About 9,000 are issued each month
• Patents are not usually for devices that we will
  ever see
• As of January 1, 2001, there had been at least
  6,165,000 patents issued
• For more information
• http//www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/

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Marketing is the big challenge

• Shirt and bow tie combination that wasnt sexy
• Many scam artists await the unwary inventor

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53 of inventors made a personal sacrifice

• Broken marriages
• Borrowing on the equity in their homes
• Quitting their jobs
• Borrowing from relatives

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26 of inventors are obsessed by their inventions

• William Barfield spent 10 years on a French fry
  maker

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Average cost of a patent was 9,079

• Out of pocket only
• Doesnt include time

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64 said that they would do it again

• 1/3rd were soured by the experience
• 62 were already working on another invention

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Many inventions take a long time before they are
accepted

• Post-it notes took 6 years

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Many inventions are waiting to take off

• Hair-dryer attachment for drying pantyhose
• Skateboard tail fin that shoots sparks
• Bug-proof pet dish

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Do you need?

• Oralgienes electric tongue cleaner
• Vineus cordless electric corkscrew
• Innovative Products Smart Bina garbage can with
  a lid that flips open by waving your hand over
  the top
• From The gadget glut, AJC, 2/17/03
• Premise is that purchasing the latest household
  gizmo may not save on time or trouble

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High technology not necessary

• Viagra Cutting the costs
• Newsweek, 11/18/02
• US10/tablet regardless of whether it 25mg, 50mg,
  100mg
• To save money, some men buy 100mg pills and split
  them
• Beveled shape makes them difficult to cut

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High technology not necessary

• Carmen Reitano invented the V2 Pill Splitter
• Selling them on the web for US25 each

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Failure is not an option

• Banking on plastic To finance a dream, many
  entrepreneurs binge on credit cards Mr. Murdock,
  the inventor, has unique golf clubs and a
  mountain of debt
• WSJ, 3/10/98

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Failure is not an option

• 25,000 in credit card bills over the last two
  years in developing a computerized golf club
• Former professor, sits in his mothers basement,
  avoiding calls from creditors

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Failure is not an option

• Minimalist life style
• A few warping bookshelves, stacks of kung-fu
  videos, a twin bed that doubles as a couch, no
  desk, a 486 computer, balancing the keyboard on
  his lap (no place for it)
• To save money he leaves his lights off during the
  day
• 1986 Nissan has sat in the driveway for more than
  a year in need of repairs

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Failure is not an option

• Like many inventors, Mr. Murdock is obsessed with
  his vision
• He also owes his mother 40,000
• Even Earl The Pearl Monroe put in 32,000

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Failure is not an option

• Taught computer science at several New York area
  colleges
• Whenever he was out of the classroom, his mind
  focused on his invention
• He worked through his savings as well as loans
  from about 20 family members an friends

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Failure is not an option

• He had a string of products that fell short
• Ideas to eradicate carpal tunnel syndrome
• Customized sneakers
• And others

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