The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-10-13
The Woes of an Inventor.

When an inventor receives pa
tent his name is immortalized In the
Official Gazette, and he Immediately
becomes an object of attack from a
horde Of hungry aspirants for money,
among whom are ex-clerks, patent
brokers and pretended leading lights
of varying degrees. The patentee IL
deluged with circulars and letters
from this class of gentry. Some write
to inform him confdentially that his
patent is good for nothing, but on
receipt of q certain fee they will set ID
right and make it sound as d silver
dollar. Others pleasantly inform the
new.fedged inventor that they have
read of his patent with great pleas
ure and consider it to be a very valu-
bleinvention. Improperly introduced
much money can be realized. The
State of Iowa, they say, is worth
$50, 900; Ohio, $45, 900; Pennsylvan-
ia, sos, 900, and so on. ALI that is
necessary is to print some circulars
and do a little blowing, which the
broker generously offers to do on re-
ceipt from the inventor of ten to fifty
dollars cash in advance. Another
writesto say that hehas an actuM offer
of $40, 900 for the patent for Canada,
provided the patent is at once taken,
which he will procure on receipt OF
the necessary money. It is almost
needless to suggest these schemes are
designed to fleece the inventor. The
so-called patent-sellers rarely effect q
bona-fide sale. They depend upon
the advance fees obtained as above
for a LIVELIHOOD. Some ofthem have
thus grown rich and prosperous.
These pretended sellers try to make
it appear they are reliable by giving
respectable reference and cite names
of patentees for whom they purport
to have sold patents. One mode ofpro-
curing these references is as follows:
They write the patentee they have a
customer who will buy O county
right in Minnesota for $500 and pay
by deciding twenty-five acres of land
In Arkansas, really worth $1,000,
but the parties are 50 anxious to OBJ
tain the patent right they are willing
to let the land go and take theright,
in settlement, provided $50 cash is
paid and a mortgage given for $500.
This done, the patent broker closes
the transaction, receives the $50
cash, which is the full value of the
land, also receives a mortgage for
$500, together with the patent deed.
At the same time the broker is care
full to obtain a written certificate
from the inventor stating, II take
pleasure in saying that x. Y. q. &
Co. have sold a patent right for me,
at my price and on my terms salts
factory, and I recommend them, !"
&c. In this way references are Sc
cured which make quite an impress
sive show on circulars, while the in
ventor is so ashamed Of having been
so easily duped he keeps mum.
One of the latest tricks is the fol-
lowing: The patentee receives let
ter from A. & B. asking for how much
he will sell his patent for such and
such a State. He replies, giving a
price, say IS, 900. The patentee soon
after receives another letter from x.
Y. a., saying that A. & B. write they
shave correspondent with you, and
now they say have decided to ptlr.
chase thepatent on the terms named,
provided the title and claims are
found to be correct. To ascertain
this they require that X. 7. 2. shall
examine and report upon the patent,
otherwise A. & 3. will not purchase;
that if the patentee wishes to COM
plete the sale he must remit $50 to
pay for the examination, which is q
work independent of the sale and
must be independently paid" The
inventor sends the money; a report
is made adverse to the patentee; no
purchase is made; none was ever in
tended. Such are q few OF the adroit
schemes now in vogue for swindling
innocent" inventors.
Bills have been introduced in Con-
gress to protect innocent purchasers
Of patents, j. e., infringers. Might 1t
not also be well for somebody to
formulate q law to protect inrocsnt
inysntbss7