Did You Know? (Electronic Engineering Times, 22 Oct 2001)

• Top US Patent Winners in 2000:

  IBM Corp.: 2,886

  NEC Corp.: 2,021

  Cannon: 1,890

  Samsung: 1,441

  Lucent: 1,411

• IBM has 117 patent attorneys in United States alone.

• How much IBM is paying an employee developing a patent:

  First filing: US$1,500

  Subsequent filing: US$750

  Top 5% most significant patents: US$5,000

  Next 25% significant patents: US$1,500

  Rest: US$500

  (Is it worth? You, the reader be the judge.)

• 1986 Federal Technology Transfer Act: engineers working in the federally run or contracted labs are paid 15% royalties on their patent. (Go for it. Invent for the government.)

• Motorola ... gives its engineers a net US$1,800 ... to recognize patents they win. But ... engineers must be with the company throughout the process to qualify. For S.G., a test engineer ... that stretched over three and a half years. "Am I fired up about patent awards? No. Would I do it again? No," G. said.

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