Peter 'Pete' Roberts invented 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,...

. He sold his 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....

 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 million of his wrenches for a profit of $44 million within a year, he sued them for fraud. In 1976, a US Federal jury

Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...

 agreed with him and awarded him $1 million in damages. Sears appealed the decision all the way to the US Supreme Court but lost.

Roberts went on to found Link Tools, which manufactures a system of interlocking quick-release ratchets, sockets, and accessories.