[kictanet] - don't be a statistic: Ten Inventors who "changed the world" but got a raw deal from their Billion dollar inventions

Tue Oct 30 21:40:45 EAT 2018

Thank you again.

Regards,
Mildred.

On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, Patrick A. M. Maina <pmaina2000 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Lets assume you are a popular and reputable doctor practising under your
> own name and someone cybersquats with your name - and places an ad script
> on the landing page.
>
> Now the google crawler detects your online activity elsewhere and figures
> out that your name is associated with medicine. So the impersonator's temp
> landing page gets filled with ads competing doctors (including quacks or
> even worse).
>
> In such a case you'd be able to sue for trade name infringement and take
> them down. In this particular case, the value (and limited exclusivity) of
> your name's IP is linked to your popularity, the uniqueness of your
> reputation and the specific circumstances around the cybersquat e.g. the
> doctor's example above.
>
> The link below has an interesting discussion on whether legal names are
> IP:
>
> https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-my-name-considered-
> intellectual-property---some-329137.html
>
>  (To be clear I'm not offering be legal advice and I'm not a lawyer.
> Please consult a lawyer for legal advice.)
>
> Good evening.
>
>
> On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 8:25:53 PM GMT+3, Mildred Achoch <
> mildandred at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Lkkljj CG
> Thank you for this. Very informative. So, if my name is my IP does this
> mean no one should cybersquat using my name?
>
> Regards,
> Mildred Achoch.
>
> On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> [long post - but contains plenty of insight nuggets]
>
> So we have interesting argument that often comes up in IP discussions...
> Perhaps a lack of IP protection contributes to the "success" and/or
> ubiquity of an invention?
>
> I've heard this (flawed) argument before and even spent quite a bit of
> time researching it. What I learned is that defective arguments can sound
> very persuasive, but they have no basis in fact or logic (though often
> framed as pseudo-facts or pseudo-logic).
>
> Such arguments are founded on simplistic reasoning that ignores the
> multitude of factors and variables that contribute to market outcomes.
>
> The truth is, you have *no way* of telling what could have happened if a
> popular unprotected invention was patented, so the argument is
> fundamentally defective and thus pointless.
>
> The fact is, the number of commercially successful (and ubiquitous)
> products that have IP protection is *far* higher than those without
> protection, and the sale of these products has funded R&D for numerous
> follow on products as well as newer inventions.
>
> Bic biro pen is globally ubiquitous and is a patented product. CocacCola,
> another globally ubiquitous product is based on the worlds most heavily
> protected IP. Your (smart) phone, laptop, PC etc contain *hundreds* of
> patented innovations (hardware/software). The medical field relies on IP
> protection (otherwise we'd all be in trouble for slow progress on disease
> management). Your car contains patented products that enhance safety... I
> could go on and on..
>
> Secondly the defective argument casually brushes off the interests of the
> original inventor. Does it not matter that the inventor was not rewarded
> for contributing to the incremental advancement of humanity? If the
> inventor is from a poor country, it *should matter a lot*.
>
> Overwhelming factual evidence shows that in any industry or sector, when
> the key actors fail to organise for collective benefit, they get exploited
> by predatory gatekeepers and middlemen. This prevents entire sectors from
> taking off despite the potential.
>
> Music/movie pirates claim that they are popularizing the artists, but the
> most pirated music/film belongs to artists who were *already* popular,
> having sunk a ton of sweat and money into marketing. What piracy really
> does is *deny* the artist income for their efforts and creativity, making
> it extremely hard (financially and motivationwise) to come up with the next
> hit. This leads to wasted talent and destroyed potential. No one documents
> *that*.
>
> The music industry in Kenya became profitable after the artists came
> together to form collective rights management organisations (similar in
> concept to IP focused Cooperative). Prior to that, artists could be
> exploited by everyone, especially corporates and media houses. Now, you can
> be a millionaire with music.
>
> This proves that rewarding innovators/IP fairly promotes more
> innovation/IP leading to a virtuous cycle of growth and prosperity.
>
> ICT, Film and TV producers have failed to organize and so they are
> struggling in an industry that makes numerous (not just one or two)
> multi-millionaires elsewhere e.g. in Nigeria, India, South Africa (and to a
> lesser extent, TZ for film/tv).
>
> So... when someone uses flawed reasoning to push an argument, it helps to
> question whether the person is aware that the reasoning is defective, and
> if it turns out that the person doesn't care, the issue of *motive* (red
> flag) needs to come up at the back of your mind.
>
> Without the exclusivity offered by IP protection, anyone can launch any
> product and that leads to a downward spiral of value destruction.
>
> Did you know that even your name is a form of IP (hence your gov issued
> certificate i.e. "ID" that prevents people from impersonating you to profit
> from or harm your brand)?
>
> Imagine if 1,000 people with fake IDs report to your workplace tomorrow
> and claim to be the real you, then demand your job or Salary. How would the
> employer know the real you?
>
> This is why your name (your personal trademark) is protected in law such
> that even you can't change it without going through a complicated legal
> process e.g. swearing an Affidavit in front of a magistrate. You don't even
> need to register a business name if you do business using your own name.
> Its a legal tradename already. Your fundamental IP.
>
> IP protection deters predation and freeloading. It encourages the
> rewarding of legitimate Innovators and allows everyone associated with them
> to win, including the entrepreneur, investors etc by giving them a critical
> and exclusive window of opportunity to recoup their risky investment.
>
> Without IP protection frameworks, there is very little incentive to
> invent, innovate or commercialise. Too much competition, common with
> unprotected ideas, leads to razor thin margins and no funds for further
> R&D.
>
> To understand this even better, please watch Peter Thiel's Stanford
> lecture: "Competition is For Losers".
>
> https://youtu.be/3Fx5Q8xGU8k
>
> Good evening!
>
> Patrick.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 12:39:20 PM GMT+3, Sidney Ochieng <
> sidney.ochieng at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Something we tend to ignore in stories like this is that perhaps because
> the technology was not patented it allowed it to spread further and faster
> than it might have otherwise.
>
> On Mon, 29 Oct 2018 at 21:54, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>
> This amazing article includes "everyday" products/technologies you have
> probably used recently e.g. Bic biro pen, Segway, Computer Mouse, Polio
> Vaccine, Fidget Spinner, Karaoke Machine and WWW (hypertext). Can you
> imagine the inventors got a raw deal? In most cases other people profited
> from the inventor's brilliance due to failure to protect their IP.
>
> Some fascinating takeaways:
>
> That *magnetic stripe *on your debit/credit card: apparently the inventor
> didn't realize its value and failed to patent the idea. A multi-billion (if
> not trillion) dollar oversight.
>
> Sometimes you just don't know the real potential of your idea/creation and
> this can lead to disastrous decisions. Especially when a bunch of people in
> flashy suits tell you that "ideas are worth nothing" - yet they want to
> meet you in their posh office for hours to hear your ideas. Others hold
> elaborate competitions with pomp and prestige; offering you a chance to be
> a celebrity. But hold on, time is money; why would someone spend precious
> time listening to (or evaluating) "worthless" stuff? Perhaps its not as
> worthless as they want you to think...?
>
> Inventor of *LED (light emitting diodes)* was way ahead of his time and,
> though he foresaw a future with LEDs, he didn't take smart steps to ensure
> that he was part of that future. Now LED bulbs are a billion dollar
> industry - and he doesn't get even 1 cent in royalty.
>
> Just because people don't "get it" immediately doesn't mean your idea is
> worthless. You could be ahead of the curve and the market just needs time
> to catch up (which can be months or years or even decades). Only *strategic
> patience* (long term thinking) can keep you grounded and ready for
> opportunity when it finally knocks. If you must, shelve your "failed" idea
> for another day, and work on others, but *never* *ever* give it away!
>
> The* Bic biro pen* inventor sold his patent for US$2Million, which turned
> out to be "peanuts" because more than *1 Trillion* Bic pens have been
> sold to date. Due to *information asymmetry*, that sweet buy-out deal
> might not be a fair valuation. Resist the 100% offer. Keep a small
> percentage to get royalties in perpetuity.
>
> You cant lose what you never had. Protect your ideas and push back (or
> walk away) when offered tempting, but strategically lousy, short term deals.
>
> Here's the article:
>
> 10 Inventors Who Made No Money on Their Inventions
> <https://www.pcmag.com/feature/353795/10-inventors-who-made-no-money-on-their-inventions>
>
> 10 Inventors Who Made No Money on Their Inventions
>
> Meet 10 people who had the spark of genius but weren't able to translate
> it into a fat wallet.
>
> <https://www.pcmag.com/feature/353795/10-inventors-who-made-no-money-on-their-inventions>
>
>
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> --
> Regards,
> Sidney
>
> *Twitter:* @princelySid <https://twitter.com/princelySid> | *Web: *s
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