Goodwin Brooke Smith

“ A careful study of the histories of great inventors and inventions impresses the student most forcibly with the glaring fact that while the field of invention offers, and has paid, fabulously large rewards to the fortunate genius who invents or discovers some really new device or idea, it also is a field full of discouragements, dangers and heart-breaking delays, disappointments and unfulfilled hopes, to say nothing of time and energy utterly wasted by misguided zeal and misdirected effort. ”

“ The successful inventor is not a "one-idea" man. He must be on the watch for "something better" all the time, until he and his expert advisers are convinced by actual tests in actual service that it is absolutely right in every way. No invention is complete and perfect when it is first conceived. Its successful development is a series of changes, substitutions, alterations, rearrangements, until finally it attains marketable shape.
At a meeting of mechanical experts in Philadelphia one evening, six men were asked the very best way to make a certain piece of machine work. ”

“ A capitalist may be willing to bet his hard dollars that your idea will work, if you have secured a patent; or he may be induced to bet that it is patentable, if you show him that it will work; but moneyed men who will bet that your invention is both patentable and practicable are few and far between. If they make such a bet, it will be with very heavy odds against the inventor."—Grimshaw.
Do not forget that some men have made millions out of a single patent. Do not forget that others have lost all they could make and borrow. ”

“ If you take your own ideas you will possibly have but one way to do it, and your way may not prove the best way in the end. The successful invention of today dominates its particular field. Why? Because it is better than others.
Successful development of any invention requires a great degree of patience, unlimited hard work, belief in ultimate success, and competent theoretical and practical knowledge of mechanics, physics, mathematics, salesmanship, shop practice and the like. It is a science in itself. ”

“ SOUNDING THE MARKET "People are always to be found who think anything with which they are not familiar cannot be good."
If the average inventor goes out among his friends with his invention and asks them their opinion of it, he will hear some such expressions as this: "Old man, you are a marvel!"; "You will be a millionaire some day, sure thing!" ”

“ Before you spend much money, either your own or any one's else, be sure (1) that your invention will work; (2) that no one else has patented it; (3) that there is an opportunity for its sale; (4) that there is not too much competition. Many a man starts off and orders a fancy nickel-plated model, and applies for his patent, only to find that the idea will not work even the least little bit. In this matter the advice of some one else well up in the theory, added to that of some one else well up in the practice, would be valuable. ”

“ There are many good things which are very ingenious, and perfectly novel and patentable, but which are in lines in which there would not be enough sale in ten years to pay the inventor the expense of getting out patents. Yet plenty of such things are patented almost every week, in this country. "Some time there could be but one customer,—say, the government, or some great corporation,—and there may be reasons which are obvious, and others not so plain on the surface, why you could not even make them a present of your invention." ”

“ History shows that enormous profits can be earned from good, strong patents.
A careful perusal of the following pages will point out some of the dangers to be avoided and the safe and reasonable course to be pursued. Invention is a matter that requires the deepest study, and should be approached, not in a haphazard, hit-or-miss fashion, but rather in a receptive, studious, analytical manner. While the average individual is fond of giving advice, no one enjoys accepting it. There is no one, however, who so needs competent, unprejudiced advice as the inventor. ”

“ In deciding upon the construction of models and the development of an idea, the proper mechanical movements should always be very carefully taken into consideration. In other words, movements which simplify the invention, minimize friction, and add power, are always to be preferred to clumsy and inefficient means or methods. Every inventor, and all students of the mechanical arts and sciences, should arrange any mechanism which they may desire to produce with the least number of parts possible, and embracing the greatest amount of simplicity of action. ”

“ The man that buys the patent will be entitled to a great deal more profit than the inventor who conceived it, and by the time he has it on the market and has the sale established, he will be entitled to everything he earns. ”

“ Public demand for anyone's invention practically regulates its success, from a commercial standpoint. If there is no public demand for it, there can be no individual profit derived from it. In other words, it is useless to apply for a patent on any art, machine or process where the demand for its use is very limited. For instance, it would be ridiculous to patent a process for performing one single act or function, the demand for which would cease as soon as the act or function was accomplished. ”

“ LOOKING FORWARD "Patience and the investment of time and labor for future results are essential factors in every inventor's success."
The field of invention is closed to no one. The studious mechanic may design and improve on the machine he operates. The day laborer, if dissatisfied with his lot, may devise means for lessening the toil of his class, and largely increase his earning capacity. The busy housewife, not content with the drudgery incident to her household cares, may devise a means or article which will lighten her task, and prove a blessing to her sisters. ”

“ The brightest minds of the business world are endeavoring to solve the problem of how best to market an article. Of course, unlimited capital, and a good article greatly lessen the problem. But to start with little or no money, build up a business, equip the plant, buy raw materials, hire help, manage a factory, establish credit, advertise, fill orders, collect accounts, and do the thousand and one other things necessary to make success of a business requires a good, virile mind, and plenty of hard work and close attention to detail, and should be a steady, gradual development. ”

“ There are a great many ideas which of themselves are good, and still are not of themselves of any value. It is of equal importance, in order to make a success of an invention, to have it conform to certain recognized mechanical principles, and capable of economical production through the regular trade and manufacturing channels. ”

“ The author feels that a careful weighing of all statements and facts in this volume will be of great value to anyone considering the application for a patent. History has undoubtedly proven that good patents are possibly more profitable than any other investment that can be made. If you have an idea, or have made a discovery that you think will prove of benefit to mankind, the wise and prudent course is to have it thoroughly investigated, in all points as relate to its success. ”

“ Your friends want to encourage you, help you. They see only your invention's good points, not its vital weaknesses. They are not "skilled in the art,"—are not in a position to judge competently at all. Do not depend on any such opinions. Go to a specialist in such lines. Will a stranger to you buy your invention in preference to the ones already on the market? If so, he exacts a lower price or a better article, which amount to the same thing. Can you manufacture your invention and sell it at a good profit in competition with others? ”

“ Your friends may think you are a genius, a wonder, and you may be, but don't let their adulation turn your head to the extent of your forgetting the six tests necessary to your idea's success. If you are sick, you go to the best physician you can find; if your horse is sick, you send for a veterinarian; if you are required to go to Court, you retain a good lawyer to represent your side,—you don't try to cure yourself, or your horse, or defend yourself. You go to a specialist in these lines. Follow the same sane method in your patent matters. ”

“ Remember that in every business, in every career, there are valleys to cross, as well as hills to scale, that every mountain range of hope is broken by chasms of discouragement through which run torrent streams of despair! ”

“ Can my invention be more cheaply manufactured than similar devices already on the market?
If your invention will enter the markets of the world in close competition with other devices of similar nature, it is necessary that it possesses the possibility for lower cost of production than the articles it will meet in competition. If it costs more to make, it will be heavily handicapped from the start. ”

“ We place the covering of an invention by strong letters patent first, as we consider it of the utmost importance that an invention, to be a commercial success, must grant its owner a virtual monopoly. ”

“ Many an inventor's head has been turned by just such praise. It is all well-meant, best-intentioned, and highly gratifying, but as an indication of what will be likely to happen to your invention it is worse than valueless. ”

“ Inventions, to possess commercial merit, must supersede in utility similar devices already on the market. They must also possess capacity for production at lower cost, as well as having conspicuously superior merit. The field of invention is a broad one, and embraces any new electrical appliances, engineering devices, improvements in steam navigation, agricultural implements, railways, household novelties, novelties in hardware and tools, pencils and toys, vehicles, furniture, toilet articles, wearing apparel, office appliances and devices. ”

“ Civilization begets new needs and wants; opportunities for new invention are multiplying at a tremendous rate. In other words, where an inventor, two centuries ago, would have had one hundred chances to "make good," today the chances are multiplied many thousand-fold. ”

“ Inventive genius can exact the highest possible price, for its labor in the markets of the world. If you are a genius you cannot employ your time to better advantage than in endeavoring to improve methods at present in use, or invent combinations that will cheapen production, or discover new elements or combinations that will effect economic results. The history of inventions, poets, past and present, tell us that success is possible, if persistently pursued. Do not allow the dangers and discouragements that we must all meet with to dishearten you. ”

“ No one is astonished at "little steam carriages," or, in other words, automobiles, nowadays, one hundred and sixteen years later.
Our grandparents, when they were young people, imagined that they were living in the "Golden Age," and yet we today would consider their lack of what we nowadays consider positive necessities a mighty primitive and inconvenient manner in which to live. When the "wisest man," centuries ago, is chronicled as saying, "There is nothing new under the sun," they lived in tents, rode camels, fought with bows and arrows, sling shots and battering rams! ”

“ Caveats have proven to be, oftentimes, worse than worthless. The Government fee is $10; the attorney fee from $10 to $25. When you file your application you are notified by the U.S. Patent Office of an interference suit, if someone else happens to file an application along similar lines. It is then "up to you" to show that "you thought of it first," usually a very expensive and disappointing task. Don't apply for a caveat, is the writer's advice.
Confidence is the bed-rock foundation of all business today, so don't be afraid of anyone trying to steal your idea. ”

“ If your patent is weak or deficient in any one of these six cardinal tests it is heavily handicapped to just that extent in the race for success. Do not depend on your own judgment, as your judgment is naturally prejudiced, and will not, most likely, reflect a dependable forecast of the public attitude toward your invention. ”

“ The placing of a patent on a royalty basis, and the payment of a nominal cash "quid pro quo" we consider the best method of disposing of an invention, and the one most likely to prove profitable, provided, of course, that the firm with which the patent is placed is thoroughly reliable, and can energetically push its sale. Elsewhere in this volume you have read of the enormous sums in royalties that have been received on various successful inventions. ”

“ Success in invention is not "easy money."—It does not consist of "thinking out an idea," picking up a magazine or paper and reading a Patent advertisement "Free Report as to Patentability,"—"No Patent No Pay,"—"Send sketch," etc., etc.; drawing a rough pencil sketch and forwarding it to the attorneys the inventor picked out ”

“ A is a smooth pulley secured on a shaft as near as possible to the motive-power. Two blocks of wood, or one block and a series of straps fastened to a band or chain, are fitted to the pulley, and these are so arranged as to bite or press upon the pulley by means of the screws and nuts on the top of the lever D. At the end of D is a scale, and the stops C, C' prevent the lever from travelling far from the horizontal position. The shaft being in motion, the screws are tightened and weights are placed in the scale until the lever takes the position shown at the required rate of revolution. ”

“ This is an every-day case one in the business meets with all the time. It is all wrong, but is only too true. Authorities state that 90 per cent. of the patents issued today are worthless from a commercial standpoint! Statistics appear to prove it, although it is hard to get at the real facts. The reader may feel that the author is trying to discourage inventors from entering the field. No. All that is intended is to show and point out the rational course to pursue in applying for Patents and endeavoring to be a success as an inventor. ”

“ Do not imagine that anyone is lying awake at night waiting for your invention to come out, because they are not. All of us consider ourselves pretty comfortable, and we are not bothering much about any new inventions. Another mistake inventors often make is that of endeavoring to make the public want their device. ”