The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-07-31
and Patents and How Z.
to Avoid Some of Their Troubles

I a lot of money and the influence OF
men we'll up In trade and business
Most inventors are poor-at least in
the early stages of their career-and
besides lacking the necessary capital
they are usually pretty poor business
men. There are exceptions-a notable
one in Edison's case-but they don't
prove anything except that the type
always holds true, although variations
will creep in. Buyers and honest pro-
moters are not standing around ready
to put their money in inventions that
any self designated genius springs or
them.
I used to think differently. Before
had sounded the depths of human dis
couragement and disappointment in
trying to get a market for patents,
and had stored my shop with innumer-
able inventions hat were about as
useful as so much junk. I Rugged the
delusion of the unsophisticated that
all an inventor had to do was to in
vent something, get out a patent, and
presto! his fortune was made. If by
chance 0 conceive of something that
isn't an infringement on somebody else's
ideas, and o manage to steer clear
OF the shyster patent lawyers, and then
get your patent without involving
yourself in financial ruin, you must
MAJ z IL yodLoclLf sell II OulIlSllI "
somebody who has the money and IA
~cilities to handle it, fall, into the
hands Of a promoter who will take a
gamblers chance, on it, Or work upon
your friends until, merely to get rid of
you, they will club together to finance
the proposition. .
I have tried all four. In the days
when youthful enthusiasm outran my
judgment, I was suspicious of everyone
and everybody. I had an idea that. my
most intimate friends were pryfng
the first patent was issued to me- I de-
cided to keep the secret strictly in the
family. 1t was a non-ref1llable bottle
invention h a has attracted thousands
Of inventors and has been responsible
for a good many freak patents: and
instead Of trying to interest a bottle
manufacturer in the proposition I put
what little money I had inherited in a
small plant that was to make my for
tune. At this late date there is little
to be said about that early adventure,
except that the patent didn't take, and
when the sheriff seized the factory to
satisfy my creditors, I offered the pat
ent as a part Of the assets. The re-
ceiver, in making up his statement,
cruelty put down my patent rights as
worthless, and when I asked for the
"S q BiAS LAG oUEABiIl6ty pre-
sented 1t to me with the compliments
of the creditors. ,
How Not to Dispose of a Patent.
/ sold another invention of those
early days outright for $3.50, and was
glad to get the money to pay the house
rent and coal bill. 1t was a patent fo1
a game and puzzle combined, and
didn't look like anything OF greai
promise. In fact, it had been turned
out during odd moments when ms
mind was resting from more arduou
labors; but to my surprise and chagrin
/ discovered later that I had sold my
birthright for a mess Of pottage. That
little game puzzle took like wildfire
and I have figured many times since
that my royalties. lie I had retained the
rights to the patent, would have nette6
me something like 100000.
That was the last invention I sold
outright, no matter how aliurinr the
offer proved, and / believe, after a life
time of inventing, that the best advice
for a young inventor is to dis
pose OF a patent except in the royalty
plan-unless the price liz so substan.
tial that there is no question about
being well paid for 1T.
How Ideas Are Stolen.
Promoting and financing patents Ii
a. business today that lis conducted BIZ
some capitalists In d shrewd and care,
full manner, and lucky is the inventor
who can get one Of these honest con,