Patently bad luck!
QUESTION Catherine Hettinger, who invented the fidget spinner, allowed her patent to expire and missed out on a fortune. Has something similar happened before? In the twenties, hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro (1899-1985) used fast-drying printer’s ink in a fountain pen, but found that it would not flow into the tip, as it was too viscous.
Working with his brother Gyorgy, a chemist, he developed a new tip consisting of a ball in a socket. Biro patented his ballpoint pen in Paris in 1938, but sold the patent to Marcel Bich in 1945, whose company Bic secured most of the profits from the 100 billion ballpoints that have been sold since.
Mikhail Kalashnikov ( 1919- 2013) invented the AK-47 assault rifle in 1947, and more than 100 million are thought to have been made. But he did not patent the design, and Izhmash, the official manufacturer of the AK-47 in Russia, only patented the weapon in 1997.
Kalashnikov said he created it for the good of his country.
Daisuke Inoue (b.1940) was a bar musician in his youth. he invented the karaoke machine as a means of allowing businessmen to sing without live backup. he never patented his design as he had not expected it to be so popular.
American inventor Douglas engelbart (1925-2013) worked for the Augmentation Research Centre Lab in the Stanford Research Institute, California. he was at the forefront of computer design.
In 1967, engelbart applied for a patent, which he received in 1970, for a ‘position indicator for a display system’. engelbart nicknamed his device the ‘mouse’ because it was a small wooden box with a cable ‘tail’ coming out of the end. the patent lapsed in 1987, before the technology became widely used, and was not renewed. Some years later it was learned that engelbart had licensed it to Apple Computer for around $40,000.
Justin Stuart, Portchester, Hants. LIeutenAnt Jozef Kosacki (1909-1990) was a Polish Army engineer who experimented with electronic devices before World War II. he was stationed in St Andrews in the early Forties, where he buried metal objects in the sand and tried to find them with a new detector.
he was so successful the British Army took it on, and it became known as the Mine Detector. It was in full production just before the Battle of el Alamein in October 1942, and saved many lives.
Kosacki never took out a patent for it. he is commemorated by a plaque on the wall of the Ardgowan hotel in north Street, St Andrews.
Thomas Proudfoot, Alresford, Hants. QUESTION How long have there been Artificers in the Royal Navy and in the Army? Are there any in the RAF or in the Royal Marines? ‘Artificer’ is defined as ‘a person who is skilful or clever in devising ways of making things; inventor’. In the armed forces of countries where the term is used, artificer is a rank.
In the British Armed Forces the origins are with the Royal navy, dating from the early days of steam ships in the 1820s. to become an artificer, a sailor had to serve for many years to gain the necessary experience and qualifications. nowadays, being awarded the rank of Artificer is a matter of training.
the RAF has always preferred to use the grades of Aircraftsman, Leading Aircraftsman and, from 1951, Senior Aircraftsman for its lower grade of technical tradesmen.
From 1951, Junior technician, Senior technician and Chief technician were used for its higher technical grades. the rank of Senior technician was removed in 1964 and replaced with Corporal and Sergeant. From 1950 to 1964 there was also a rank of Master technician, equivalent to a Warrant Officer.
In the Royal electrical and Mechanical engineers (ReMe) there is an Artificer Sergeant Major, normally the senior noncommissioned rank in a ReMe unit. the rank is also used for specialist ReMe soldiers selected for an accelerated path to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Given its specific technical meaning, there are no artificers in the Royal Marines, except those that might be on secondment from the navy or ReMe.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
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