Wow, it basically reads like one of dozens of 'creative person is successful, not good with their money or the business parts' stories, just with the Wright bro

Wow, it basically reads like one of dozens of 'creative person is successful, not good with their money or the business parts' stories, just with the Wright brothers. I mean, sure, if establishing a monopoly and aiming for maximum monetary extraction from a market is the primary goal - which it seems to be for many people (here and otherwise) - then yeah, they "blew it" so to speak. Still, first in flight, history remembers this, and all pilots must speak English if they expect to land in the United States and most well-to-do nations. Oh, and this tidbit: >In October 1915 Orville sold the Wright Company to a group of investors for a reported $1.5 million. ...a quick calculation makes it look like in today's value that'd be around $35 million. Might not sound like a lot for the Forbes business crowd, but that's a good chunk of change in my opinion. Their secrecy surely didn't help them, but trying to apply that to today's environment is just stupid. The likelihood of being 'ripped off' is more of a concern now than ever - if the idea can make it to China, it can be made in China without recourse. Try playing whack-a-mole with lawsuits while trying to do business as the originator? Sounds like a terrible business plan. I'm going to be writing an essay about 'Why I keep secrets as a struggling inventor' soon, and will submit it here for discussion. In it will be one design from years ago that I feel comfortable showing in public. Grand scheme of things I know I have to pay for protection in the patent game, but even with the patent, there are still risk factors in the global scene.