Beware of intellectual property. If you solved the problem for your employer as a work project, then the solution and product is their property as you were paid to solve the problem.

If you developed the solution after hours at no cost to the company, but allowed the company to have the solution, then you will need to consult a lawyer as to who owns the solution.


Regards

sc

As Mr. sc mentioned, this is the matter strictly related to legal issues. Before you undertake any kind of intellectual property claim, you should get the advice from specialized lawyer.
In my surrounding , which is rather confusing regarding legal issues, the only effective way to present such achievement is to publish article in some specialized magazine. That could be very effective because you gain respect where it is the most important to have it - among your colleagues, wihin your field. That must be good reference once when starting your own business.
One more thing to mention: statement "I solved in tho months what the others couldn't solve in two years" doesn't belong to sucessfull promoting practice. Even if your achievement is magnificient, you must maintain full respect to other specialists. Every good professional deserves full respect and you must take into account help of being in certain circumstances, having ispiration, even luck to solve your problem (such kind of modesty is necessary, I beleive).
Praise youself, but don't blame the others. Only those who ignore code of ethics desrve to be blamed and nobody else!

Good luck!

Try to patent it. The patent will belong to your employer
but you will have a patent on your resume

<nbucska@pcperipherals.com>

James

The statement “It took me about 2 months to solve what the others could not solve in 2 years.” Reminds me of the story of someone trying to break some rocks. After many blows they gave up and the rock was unbroken. Along comes another person who shatters the rock with one blow.

Who broke the rock? The one blow or was the rock weakened by the previous blows?

Did you solve the problem from scratch? Or did you have the previous experience of the 2 years of unsuccessful tries to show you the way not to solve the problem. Almost all scientific and engineering advances are the accumulation of the work of the many who have passed before. While there are some true breakthroughs, even they rely on the work of others.

Since I know nothing of the problem, I cannot comment on whether or not you are a brilliant engineer. Undoubtedly you have some talent in problem solving.

I think that you also need some maturity and judgement. You are not yet licensed, that tells me that you are young and inexperienced in the ways of the real world.

You are claiming all the credit and denying even the possibility that the work of others helped you. Try some humility. It goes a long way in the work place and some of those who failed in the past might be in a position of passing judgement on you in the future. It would also show some team building skills. These are things that will help you in the future.

If you sell yourself as the guru of this type of machine design, be prepared to be judged by the standards of guru’s. That means that you have only one chance. You might not be lucky next time. If you really are that good it will show over time and you will get a reputation as someone who can solve problems and be a good guy to work with. This will ensure continued success and you will not be remembered as a one shot wonder.

Of course, that’s just my opinion and I could be wrong.

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion
www.kitsonengineering.com

Rick;

I just want to say that I appreciate your comments.  After reading them I  re-read my original post and I do sound a bit snotty.  That was not my intention.  I fully admit that what I did would not have been possible without the work of those before me.  However, I did do something fairly radical that worked.  It will be a while before I will know if I am good, or just lucky.  I am guessing it's a little of both.

The point of my original post, however, seems to have gotten a little lost in the way I wrote it, so let me try and restate.  I certainly don't think of myself as being a guru in this industry , yet .  But the only way to get there is to keep pushing for bigger and better work to develop my own skills, while cultivating a name for myself.

I have started doing this by trying to maintain contact with the customer myself.  In the past I would have passed questions off to our sales department and wait several weeks for a reply.  Now I just handle it myself.  I even have customers who call me directly now with their own questions.  

I am looking for other ways to get my name out there.  I know this can be very dangerous, especailly if I was lucky and my next machine is the one that breaks me.  But if I wasn't just lucky the next time a customer comes to us for a machine I will get the job, rather than just who has the least amount of work.

I worked with a student at a manufacturing site he designed a small piece of equipment as part of his final year project. To me this was just another development job part of the normal development work. The student decided to patent it. I thought this was bizarre and advised him not to, with possible market of 4 and zero profit. He took out a provisional patent, and won the best final project award. I saw the course leader who informed me how successful the course was he puffed out his chest with pride “and one of the students patented his invention”. The patent became more important than the invention. The publicity was well worth the cost with hindsight it was an excellent move.

A patent would do no harm.

But don't stand on anyones toes.

James,

A few recommendations:

1.    The patent idea is very good.  I suggest you pursue it.
2.    Write a white paper and publish it in a related trade magazine.
3.    Offer to speak about the subject at seminars and trade shows.
4.    Offer your employer to accompany the sales people to make technical presentations.
5.    If the subject allows it, think about writing a book.  Nothing else, including a patent, will give you the exposure that a book will.  This is not because everyone will read your book, but because you will be perceived as the “expert” in your field.
6.    Follow you heart.
7.    Read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”

Feel free to ask if you have any questions or comments.

If I have seen farther, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of Giants.

good goin' James.

magnificent - Rjeffrey's quote
fundamental, wit, emotional intelligent
molded into one. With giants being a symbol
for people carrying a soul

Frank Exius
IFE Bonn Germany
www.ife.subito.cc
Telefon ++49\2642\980409
Dienstleistung in ANSYS
FEM Berechnung numerische Simulation
Digital/virtual Prototyping Outsourcing

Socrates or Descartes?  I'm not sure which.

I have heard that quote attributed to Isaac Newton.

All this machinery making modern music can still be open hearted.

Yea, one o' dem dead quys that didn't ha Telebision to rot day brains out...  

Sorry about writing in the vernacular...

"I have heard that quote attributed to Isaac Newton.  "

Oh, so it was Leibniz who said it!

Cheers

Greg Locock