The public is not wholly to blame for this, as in recent years there has been a class of men who have canvassed the country with patent rights, not caring what representations they made so long as they were able to effect a sale; consequently, many people have been lured into purchasing patent rights for a small territory which in many instances were worthless or not as represented, causing them to be more or less skeptical of all patents, as well as to bring this manner of selling patents generally into ill repute. With manufacturers and capitalists, this prejudice does not exist to any great extent, as with them the patent rests solely upon its own merits.
Newspaper Notoriety.
Many inventors overlook the importance of interesting newspaper men in their inventions. This is a matter of great consequence to the inventor in exploiting his invention, and should be given some attention. Newspapers desire items of interest of every description, and readers are usually interested in brief accounts of any new invention possessing[p. 28] novelty or merit; so that when the inventor once gets his invention into the newspapers it is generally copied by other papers, with the result that the invention gets a large amount of free advertising and publicity. These items frequently attract the attention of capitalists, manufacturers, and others, and at once put the invention in a favorable position before the public as could be done possibly in no other way—certainly in no cheaper way.
Many of the trade journals and other periodicals are also open to receive technical descriptions of inventions of merit concerning industrial improvements. Such articles should be written in good form, containing not over five hundred or a thousand words, and if admitted to this class of publications will be of the utmost value and importance in creating favorable public opinion, and in advancing the inventor's interests.
With hardly an exception, if an invention strikes editors favorably and is adjudged to be of sufficient interest to form an article of news in newspapers, or of sufficient merit to warrant a description in the trade papers, it is pretty certain to prove a success and bring the inventor large returns.
If the invention is of such a character as to strike newspaper men unfavorably, the inventor can resort to the advertisement columns; using[p. 29] the large daily papers, or such publications which in some way relate to the industry to which the patent appertains, and such as have the largest circulation among the class of people it is desired to reach. See about advertising on page 46.