Re: 360 degree video real time... interested?

["BruceR" <brNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxx>]

While the point you're making is very valid, I think Bob Kearns'
particular story is not the best example. He could have (and should
have) taken the $30 million and enjoyed his life of leisure.  In this
particular example he was just greedy.  In fact, the story points out
the dark side of inventors who think that they are entitled to way more
than an invention is worth.  His desire for 1.6 billion demonstrates
that he really didn't understand the commercial value of his invention.
 That being said, most cases of infringement are met with attorneys who
offer little or nothing and just bully the inventor into dropping his
suit for little or no compensation.

From:Robert Green
ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx

> "Steve Uhrig" <Steve@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
>> Then a patent simply gives you legal right to sue someone who
>> violates it.
>
> Don't you just love the legal system?  The government says: "We'll
> decide patents, YOU get to do the enforcement."  The process is
> unbelievably biased in favor of large corporations with stables of IP
> (intellectual property) attorneys.
>
>> If a large company can out-lawyer you, you lose.
>
> Amen.  I'm sure you know one of the saddest examples of great men who
> have been beaten, quite literally to death, by corporate patent
> thieves:  Edward Howard Armstrong, the inventor, among many other
> things, of FM radio.
>
> Anyone wishing to play the patent game would be well-advised to
> research his story as well as those of the inventors of intermittent
> wiper blades and the push-to-release socket wrench.  While some
> inventors do indeed *eventually* get to reap the benefit of their
> ingenuity, most end up mired in patents suits that make even bitter
> divorces look amicable.
>
> Can you imagine what other remarkable inventions he could have
> brought to the world were he not occupied with the unending patent
> battles that eventually led him to end his own life?  We should
> cherish people with such genius, not grind them to death under the
> wheels of "justice." <sigh>
>
>> It is a common misconception competitors or persons wishing to
>> use your intellectual property will buy it from you or pay you a
>> commission.
>
> Bob Kearns, inventor of the intermittent wiper blade, found that out
> the hard way. His permanent partial blindness from a wedding night
> champagne cork that hit him in the eye turned out to be an
> inspiration. While driving in the rain he was distracted by the
> wiper's regular motion.  He wondered why a wiper couldn't be more
> like an eyelid and just sweep occasionally.  He built and patented a
> remarkably simple 4 part windshield motor only to find Ford and
> others eventually using it without licensing it.
>
> The first auto maker he sued offered him thirty million dollars to
> settle ou t of court. But he refused because he thought it wasn't
> fair.  It took 12 years for the case to come to trial.  Twelve
> YEARS!!!!  His determination to see the case through cost him his
> wife and his health. After a three week trial the jury returned a
> verdict: They found infringement, but they awarded him a measly $5
> million dollars - a far cry from the $1.6 billion he wanted or the
> $30 million he was offered right at the start.  Can you imagine your
> financial future riding on the opinions of twelve random chosen
> non-technical, non-business literate jurors?  What else might Bob
> Kearns have invented had he not been sent through the mill?
>
> --
> Bobby G.