Making Trouble
WHO WANTS TO BE
AN INVENTOR?
DON’T WORRY, NO ONE IS GOING TO STEAL YOUR SECRETS.
By Saul Griffith
FAR, FAR OUT THERE ON THE FRINGE OF
society’s imagination is the backyard inventor
who strikes it rich with some cunning little
gizmo that improves life. You’ve seen this person
portrayed by Wayne Szalinsky in Honey, I Shrunk
the Kids, Doc Brown in Back to the Future, Bruce
Wayne in Batman, and countless other fictional
characters, including my favorite, Wallace, and
the real brains of the operation, Gromit.
Every time Squid Labs is in the news somewhere,
we receive a new batch of emails from home inventors: “Dear Sirs, I’ve invented an energy device. I
need help in patenting it and prototyping it. It will
revolutionize the world and save the children of
Africa from starvation.”
Against my better judgment, I often send a reply:
“Can you tell me a little more about your device so
I can figure out if we can help?” Generally, I get the
paranoid response: “If I tell you any more, you will
know what the invention is!” To which I have to say,
“Without more information I can’t help you. Good
luck.” And in the back of my mind I imagine another
perpetual motion machine.
This phenomenon reminds me of Tim O’Reilly’s
writing regarding authors: “Lesson 1: Obscurity is
a far greater threat to authors and creative artists
than piracy.” Which might just as easily be translated as: Obscurity by secrecy is a far greater threat
to inventors than having your ideas stolen by
corporations.
I know a lot of people who invent things, even for
a living, but I can’t say I know anyone who represents the mythical backyard inventor who retires to
live a life of luxury on the royalties of their patent. It
is a concept fueled by the American dream and in
the media offerings that support that dream, but
it is not a reality.
I suspect that what would be most helpful is to
step back and understand what it is that “inventors”
really want, and figure out what would be their best
strategy to get it. Like musicians, artists, and the
other obsessively creative types, most innovators
really just want to earn a good living doing what
they love. Inventors, deep down, would like to be
paid for full-time tinkering. If they could retire
with the proceeds and buy yachts, that would be
ideal, but I suggest that having the resources to
do what they love and a workshop to do it in is
way more important than the pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow.
I’ll return to O’Reilly’s words to string my own
thoughts together: “For all of these creative artists, most laboring in obscurity, being well-enough
known to be pirated would be a crowning achievement.” Again, these words apply directly to inventors
and the process of invention. You’ll be better off in
the long run being known for inventing something
— even if you give it away — than hoarding the idea
in a padlocked file cabinet in your basement.
I know a lot more people who publicized ideas
that turned into careers or job offers than I do
people who made it big with that mousetrap. I don’t
actually know anyone who has been “screwed” by
“bastard corporations” or other “thieving inventors.”
Of course I always console my friends when they
don’t think their licensing deal was good enough,
but it’s really the same counseling they get from
me over thinking about exes: “Of course they were
[insert epithet] but now you are out of it, and better
off for it.”
Let’s briefly look at the other option, the “
patent and sell” dream. A single patent through to
prosecution will cost you anywhere from $20,000
to $100,000, depending on how much of the world
46 Make: Volume 09
