Meet the man who quietly profits from every hybrid sold

[wtmusic]

"Alex Severinsky is a Russian man who came to the United States in 1978. He graduated from Ukraine's Kharkiv University of Radioelectronics in 1967 before moving on to an Electrical Engineering Ph.D. from Moscow's Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics in 1975. That's the background. Here's the important bit.

In 1994, Severinsky patented an invention he called Hyperdrive, which allows for a seamless transition between drive systems – what essentially allows hybrid vehicles to operate smoothly while switching between gas and electric power. Toyota uses a system similar to Hyperdrive in its hybrid vehicles yet the automaker states they developed this technology independent of Severinsky's research. Regardless, thanks to a lengthy lawsuit, the automaker is now forced to pay Alex Severinksy for every single hybrid vehicle it sells."

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/11/02/meet-the-man-who-quietly-profits-from-every-hybrid-sold/

Amazing. I guess this would trump intermittent wipers. :wow:

[Sonoman]

1. A friend of mine 'invented' the cell-phone cam.

Serious bucks.

My father revolutionized the cell-phone signal boosters on towers.

GTE tried to fuck him over and got screwed (he knew the guy who killed Craftsman on the ratchet wrench and the wiper guy).

He spent all the money building orphanages in Mexico.

All I got was a lousy tee shirt.

Sonoman

[NNadir]

2. Cool Case. IP law is definitely a fun thing. n/t

[wtmusic]

3. Being a plaintiff against a multinational corp. is not so fun.

I spent 5 years of my life in an (ultimately successful) IP battle, and I'm sure mine was a cakewalk compared to what he went through.

I hope the guy has found some peace, along with all that cash.

[NNadir]

4. Well, it's fun if you win, is it not?

It's fun to just write patents.

The guy not only got to write patents, and to have some granted, but he also apparently is going to do something very rare, make money off some.

Maybe, just maybe, he enjoyed the whole thing.

[wtmusic]

5. Something tells me you've written some

I've tried twice, was shot down by prior art.

Unless you're onto something very technical and have the background, it's pretty damn hard to come up with something new.