Laser: The Inventor, the Nobel Laureate, and the 30 year patent war November 13, 2008
Posted by chetan in : IP, IP Strategy , trackback
Extensive travels over the past few weeks has afforded me the opportunity to catch-up on my reading. One of the books i recently finished was Laser: The Inventor, the Nobel Laureate, and the 30 year patent war by Nick Taylor. If you are an inventor or have anything to do with patents, or just want to understand the intricacies of the legal system, this book is highly recommended. I deal with patents and IP all the time so found the narrative especially engaging.
Nick Taylor has done a superb job of capturing the life and Gordon Gould, a young scientist who invented Laser but couldn’t quite get the credit for more than 30 years. He eventually prevailed towards the end of his life. His story is inspiring and just breathtakingly fascinating. It was so captivating that I didn’t want my flight to land until I had finished the book. The details captured by Nick are so fine that it makes you feel you have a front seat of the drama that unfolded over the course of three decades. It has a good ending as well. Good and honesty prevailed. I am surprised no one has made a movie out of his life.
Comments»
At times it’s discouraging to see how the patent system works. I believe that the inventors of velcro and windshield wipers had the same type of issues in receiving credit (and money) for their work.
And then you have patents for business processes and companies that are “patent lawsuit firms” that often appear to be abuses of the system.
The good thing is that in the end it doesn’t stop passionate people from creating great innovations!