bona
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 6, 2009
- 3,798
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[h=3]1. Sir Tim Berners-Lee[/h]Perhaps the most famous inventor not to earn cash from an invention that fundamentally changed how we see the world is Sir Tim Berners-Lee - inventor of the World Wide Web. The first website was built at CERN in 1991, and from there the internet was developed. But Berners-Lee put no patent on his idea, so was due no royalties. He decided that his invention should be freely available. We thank you, Sir Tim.
[h=3]2. Laszlo Biro[/h]In 1938, Laszlo Biro patented the ballpoint pen, after becoming fed up with leaky fountain pens. But having taken out a patent for his invention, Biro sold it to Marcel Bich in 1945, whose company Bic pocketed the majority of the cash from the 100 billion that have been sold since.
[h=3]3. Mikhail Kalashnikov[/h]Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 in 1947, and more than 100 million of the assault rifles are thought to have been manufactured since. But while the weapon's official manufacturer did patent the design in the 1990s, Kalashnikov never did. He said he created it for the good of his country.
[h=3]4. Daisuke Inoue[/h]Japanese businessman Daisuke Inoue is the man who gave us the karaoke machine. Again, he never patented his design, so didn't benefit from the millions of screeching performances it became responsible for.
[h=3]5. Sir Christopher Cockerell[/h]Sir Christopher Cockerell received a knighthood for his various inventions, which included the hovercraft - an idea he first tested using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans. As he developed his idea, he was even forced to sell some of his possessions to fund the work. But despite patenting it he had to battle for years to get cash from the National Research Development Corporation who helped put the hovercraft into production.
[h=3]6. Douglas Engelbart[/h]The inventor of the computer mouse Douglas Engelbart died in July this year. He first came up with the idea for the mouse in 1968, and did patent it. But the patent ran out in 1987, before the technology became widely used. Since then, at least one billion computer mice have been sold.
[h=3]7. Ron Klein[/h]Ron Klein's invention enabled millions of companies to make billions of pounds - but he saw none of it. Klein invented the magnetic credit card strip in 1968, but said he "never made much money" from the patented idea. However, the serial inventor did make cash of other projects and brands himself the "Grandfather of Possibilities".
[h=3]8. John Walker[/h]John Walker gave us fire. Well, he gave us matches, when he invented them in the 1820s. But the chemist refused to patent his invention, wanting to make sure it was available for everyone.
[h=3]9. Alexey Pajitnov[/h]An icon of early computer games, Tetris was the brainchild of Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov. He created the game in 1984 while working at the USSR's Academy of Science. But it would be more than a decade before he would begin getting royalties on his creation, because the rights were owned by the Soviet government.
[h=3]10. Harvey Ball[/h]It has become a key feature of texts, e-mails, tweets, and all other forms of digital communication. But the humble "smiley" was actually invented by Harvey Ball. He first designed the emoticon in 1963 to improve flagging employee morale at an insurance company, but the symbol took off and became hugely popular. Ball never copyrighted his work, and earned just $45 for the original design.
[h=3]2. Laszlo Biro[/h]In 1938, Laszlo Biro patented the ballpoint pen, after becoming fed up with leaky fountain pens. But having taken out a patent for his invention, Biro sold it to Marcel Bich in 1945, whose company Bic pocketed the majority of the cash from the 100 billion that have been sold since.
[h=3]3. Mikhail Kalashnikov[/h]Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 in 1947, and more than 100 million of the assault rifles are thought to have been manufactured since. But while the weapon's official manufacturer did patent the design in the 1990s, Kalashnikov never did. He said he created it for the good of his country.
[h=3]4. Daisuke Inoue[/h]Japanese businessman Daisuke Inoue is the man who gave us the karaoke machine. Again, he never patented his design, so didn't benefit from the millions of screeching performances it became responsible for.
[h=3]5. Sir Christopher Cockerell[/h]Sir Christopher Cockerell received a knighthood for his various inventions, which included the hovercraft - an idea he first tested using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans. As he developed his idea, he was even forced to sell some of his possessions to fund the work. But despite patenting it he had to battle for years to get cash from the National Research Development Corporation who helped put the hovercraft into production.
[h=3]6. Douglas Engelbart[/h]The inventor of the computer mouse Douglas Engelbart died in July this year. He first came up with the idea for the mouse in 1968, and did patent it. But the patent ran out in 1987, before the technology became widely used. Since then, at least one billion computer mice have been sold.
[h=3]7. Ron Klein[/h]Ron Klein's invention enabled millions of companies to make billions of pounds - but he saw none of it. Klein invented the magnetic credit card strip in 1968, but said he "never made much money" from the patented idea. However, the serial inventor did make cash of other projects and brands himself the "Grandfather of Possibilities".
[h=3]8. John Walker[/h]John Walker gave us fire. Well, he gave us matches, when he invented them in the 1820s. But the chemist refused to patent his invention, wanting to make sure it was available for everyone.
[h=3]9. Alexey Pajitnov[/h]An icon of early computer games, Tetris was the brainchild of Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov. He created the game in 1984 while working at the USSR's Academy of Science. But it would be more than a decade before he would begin getting royalties on his creation, because the rights were owned by the Soviet government.
[h=3]10. Harvey Ball[/h]It has become a key feature of texts, e-mails, tweets, and all other forms of digital communication. But the humble "smiley" was actually invented by Harvey Ball. He first designed the emoticon in 1963 to improve flagging employee morale at an insurance company, but the symbol took off and became hugely popular. Ball never copyrighted his work, and earned just $45 for the original design.
