Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-12-11
MONEY OUT OF PATENTS.
Exploitation IL OFTEN More Difficult
Than Invention, Says writer.

Exploitation IL OFTEN More Difficult
Than Invention, Says Writer.
Waldemar Kaempffert writes in part
in the outlook:
To invent successful device Is one
thing; to make money out Of it, another
Tho man who invented the vacuum clean
er had to fight rusty household conscr-
vatlsm. Steam coaches ran successfully
in England in 1924 Parliament passed the
road locomotive act" decrccing that a
man with a red flag must precedc mo-
tor-driven vehicle and prohibiting a speed
greater than four miles an hour. Thus
the automobile was ditchcd for more
than half a century. Men stu alive can
remember the dorislon that greeted pro-
posals to telegraph across the Atlantic
and to build ships Of iron II took a Nj
agara of advertising to convince us that
piano could be acceptably played with
air; that watch costing only 81 would
keep time; that a safety razor would NOV
chin bristles.
Just how ingenuity in marketing shall
be exercised depends much on the char
acter of the invention. \ loom that costs
$4,000 to manufacture cannot be sold as
If 1t were a breakfast food. There may
he only 80 possible buyers in the whole
country.
During building Of the Chicago drainage
canal contractors who bid on rock oxca-
walton were told that tenders must NOT
exceed 70 cents "A cubic yard Rock had
never been eXcavatod at that price under
the conditions. The apparently limos
slbc could be accomplished by com
Of
way and the cantilever later used with
success at Panama. OF these the CAN'T
lever cost $4,000 Few contractors could
afford that sum. Accordingly the manu-
facturer leased the machine, with result
that contractors ultimately excavated
rock AT Sc cents yard. Illinois saved
S5W0,oco. and the manufacturer made
more than If he had sold his machine
outright
Leasing is not always effective The
government, biggest Of contractors, will
not pay royalties. It insists on owning
Its machinery. Edison invented power.
fuI rock-crushor which can pulverize a
N-ton boulder On the whole continent
there Is not a market for dozen sucr
machines and profits on the dozen would
not pay expense Of hundreds of expert.
ments before the crusher became prac.
ticable. Colonel Goetnals wanted to bu,
such crusher for breaking rock in con.
structinr the Gatun dam Edison asked
a small royalty for each ton crushed, z
small fraction OF the saving Negotia.
tons failed
LEASES AND TYING" CLAUSES.
Leasing is probably the most approved
method Of placing complicated machin,
on the market. The most important ma,
chimes in shoe manufacturing are wclter,
and stitches. These are leased and nevcr
sold-leased on such conditions that tn,
weller may not be used with a competinl
stitcher, nor the stitcher with a com
pctng wclter. About s., cents for every
pair made is paid by shoe manufacturer.
in royalties. In addition to weller anc
sutcher the shoe machinery patentee.
place at disposal of shoe manufacturer
some &c auxiliary machines which he may
use If he sees fit, and for which only
nominal rental is charged varying from
81 TO s35 a year--barelv enough to pay
for wear and tear. These may not b,
used unless the weller and stitcher are
leased. Such tying" clauses We're in
vented long before the modern trust. AL
though legality is being subjected to jul
dicial scrutiny the leasing system has
enabled many poor man who coul(
afford TO buy machinery to engage II
shoe manufacturing with little capital.
In the Dick Henry case" We Learned
Of another method Of marketing patentet
machinery, in selling a device at les,
than cost and compelling purchaser Il
BUY from the manufacturer whatever
supplies may bee necessary. If supplies
bought IN open market ar" used. th'
patent L. lntrlnged' because the Inventor
or ms assignee mas eNcluSlN" constitu
uoh' H-ht to use the machine In any
way ne sees III ana has permitted pur
chaser to use the machine only in a pre-
Scrioed way. 50 the courts held tim
ana again in cases long before Dick "
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