Protect Your Patents: A Cautionary Tale

by Harry Goldstein IEEE Spectrum Online, accessed 11 May 2005 Although inventor Coliss Orville Burandt may never see a penny of the profits, many hybrid cars on the market today implement one of his inventions -- a method of variable valve timing that enables hybrid cars to control the amount of air and fuel introduced during combustion. Burandt transferred the rights to his patent in exchange for funding and subsequently lost the rights to his invention when the patent expired due to nonpayment of maintenance fees. Read the article