This week on Judge Alex an invention dispute was heard between uncle and nephew. Episode intro:
LOUIS’ GREAT INVENTION
WILSON vs. LEONARD
Louis says his nephew Theodore stole his “invention” which he claims had the potential to make him a millionaire! Louis claim Theodore took his idea and started marketing it behind his back. Louis claims when he ran out of money to market his invention he went to Theodore for help but instead he “duped” him into giving him the full rights to his invention and stole all the profits. Theodore claims he did not steal Louis’ invention and claims Louis is just a bad businessman. What does Judge Alex have to say about that? Tune in today and find out. (SHOW #4157)
Episode 4JA082
Of course I couldn’t help but tune in this afternoon during lunch to find out the details. As it turns out, it was a straight forward contract case. The nephew bought the invention from him for a lump sum and put his experience of product promotion behind the product, but the product failed. Apparently others were coming up with similar ideas and although it got into stores, it didn’t last for long. Although the invention failed in the marketplace, the lump sum payment was still enforced (at least to the maximum for small claims court).
This case really showed the difference between selling an invention for a lump sum and a licensing agreement. The lump sum is there success or failure, a license requires success. Unfortunately the enforcement of the filing was very limited, the uncle getting only $5,000 for the $30,000 agreement.
Many disputes like this arise from contracts, so read them! It is amazing how many people will read the first few lines, scan the middle and read the ending. If you have questions ask for clarification, get the language changed to be specific and understandable and if things get dicey bring in a lawyer.
