science

Independent inventor

Independent inventor is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Independent inventor rather than just read about it. In short: An independent inventor is a person who creates inventions independently, rather than for an employer. Many independent inventors patent their inventions so that they have rights over them, and hope to earn income from selling or licensing them.

Key takeaways

Independent inventor belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Independent inventor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Independent inventor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An independent inventor is a person who creates inventions independently, rather than for an employer. Many independent inventors patent their inventions so that they have rights over them, and hope to earn income from selling or licensing them. Usually inventions made in the course of employment are ultimately owned by the employer; this is often specified in the terms of employment. Other inventors (independent or corporate) may create inventions hoped to be of use to anybody, and place them in the public domain.

Notable post-1950 independent inventors Robert Kearns, inventor of a type of intermittent windscreen wiper, who successfully sued Ford and Chrysler, and whose story was dramatized in the film Flash of Genius Jerome H. Lemelson, who claimed to have invented technology used in bar code readers, and eventually lost his patent rights as a result of pursuing a so-called submarine strategy for his patent applications Peter Roberts, inventor of a quick-release socket wrench, who sold his patent to Sears and then successfully claimed the company owed him more because they had misrepresented their market estimates in negotiations Ron Hickman of Jersey, inventor of a portable workbench turned down by several tool companies with comments such as that it would sell in the dozens rather than hundreds; he started selling it direct to professional builders. Several companies produced unlicensed imitations, as is normal to challenge a patent; Hickman successfully defended his patents in court. Black & Decker started producing the workbench in 1973 as the Black & Decker Workmate, paying Hickman a royalty; it had sold about 30 million worldwide by the time of Hickman's death in 2011. Brazilian Alfredo Moser invented a way of illuminating a house during the day without electricity, using plastic bottles inserted through the roof, of benefit to people with few resources living in simple dwellings. The idea was taken up in about 15 countries, and it was expected that over a million would have been installed by the start of 2014. Moser was very happy that his lamp, which he did not patent, was taken up in such a big way.

Organizations Alliance for American Innovation

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Independent inventor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Independent inventor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Independent inventor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Independent inventor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Independent inventor

In research: Independent inventor appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Independent inventor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Independent inventor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics DIY culture, Inventors, Open-source hardware, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Independent inventor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Independent inventor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Independent inventor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Independent inventor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Independent inventor in simple terms?

Why does Independent inventor matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Independent inventor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Independent inventor.