An independent inventor is an inventor who creates invention

Invention

An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...

s by himself. They often earn their income from selling or licensing the patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

s they get on their inventions.

Independent inventors are distinguished from inventors who work for corporations. Inventors that work for corporations, such as research scientists, must normally assign their ownership rights to their inventions to corporations as a condition for their employment.

Notable independent inventors

• Ronald A. Katz
  Ronald A. Katz
  Ronald A. Katz is an inventor and president of Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP. His inventions are primarily in the field of automated call center technology. Katz has developed a portfolio of more than 50 US patents covering his innovations...
  
   inventor of the automated call center.
• Robert Kearns
  Robert Kearns
  Robert William Kearns was the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper systems used on most automobiles from 1969 to the present. His first patent for the invention was filed on December 1, 1964....
  
   inventor of the intermittent windscreen wiper
  Windscreen wiper
  A windscreen wiper or windshield wiper is a device used to remove rain and debris from a windscreen or windshield. Almost all motor vehicles, including trains, aircraft and watercraft, are equipped with such wipers, which are usually a legal requirement.A wiper generally consists of an arm,...
  
  .
• Jerome H. Lemelson
  Jerome H. Lemelson
  Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson was a prolific American engineer, inventor, and patent holder...
  
   inventor of the bar code reader.
• Peter Roberts
  Peter Roberts (inventor)
  Peter 'Pete' Roberts invented the quick release socket wrench. He sold his patent to US retail store chain Sears for $10,000 who said that they did not think the invention was worth very much. When he learned that Sears had done a market study with revealed a huge market and that they had sold 26...
  
   inventor of the quick release socket wrench
  Socket wrench
  A socket wrench is a wrench with interchangeable heads called sockets that attach to a fitting on the wrench, allowing it to turn different sized bolts and other fasteners. The most common form is a hand tool popularly called a ratchet consisting of a handle with a ratcheting mechanism built in,...
  
  

Organizations

• Alliance for American Innovation
• society of robotics

External links

• Inventors Eye, the USPTO's bimonthly publication for the "independent inventor community"