Well, there it is. An answer in search of a question.
I'm sure you're aware that it's almost a "meme" in the Star Trek universe that when a human says "I wonder..." the universe knows it's going to need serious counseling REALLY soon
You may want to take a look at
Well it's not a "flying runway" or launch rail but yes. Though I'll point out (as I'm sure you know) several nations and dozens of companies had similar ideas for launching everything from aircraft, to spacecraft, to flying vehicles and troops over the enemies head! But again, a flying runway/launch rail?
Patenting stuff cost money, without serious financial backing to fund a defence they’re worthless, you can only make money from the IP rights when the invention is sold commercially and you’ve only got 20years max protection.
One has to wonder what the plan is here?.....if indeed there ever was one.
I don't know that they cost that much to get though. And if you don't really 'intend' to defend anything or in fact just want to get something into the patent 'process' for other purposes, (such as "free-energy/fuel-from-water/etc" scams often do for an appearance of legitimacy) then it would make sense I suppose.
In a few other cases it's literally re-inventing the wheel, and patenting it because you (or the industry) forgot they'd already done something. My go-to example here is when Aerojet patented the "Thrust Augmentation Nozzle" rocket concept in the early 2000s as a 'new' idea only to have the patent office eventually (after they granted a patent mind you) find that Aerojet had only a few years earlier, (late 90s) let their PREVIOUS patents on the concept, (around 9 of the IIRC) lapse that they had held since the mid-50s. No one at Aerojet appears to have known the previous work existed except possibly a one-person office of historical document tracking that was shut down due to budget cuts in the early 90s.
The number of nonsensical, outlandish and just plain weird patents I've seen over the years shows it quite often isn't about the money or even the "patent" itself.
For example I recall a good dozen and a half patents at one point a few years ago, (almost a decade since I've seen them now that I think of it) with one memorable one titled: "Fusion/Plasma Powered and Propelled, Laser-Armed, Mobile Anti-Missile Fortress and Platform" that ran to about 30 VERY well detailed and drawn art-type internal and and external 'views' of a multi-story HOVERING thing that had not a single word anywhere in it. And these had been renewed and re-issued multiple times and cross-referenced to others of the same type by the same person. They were beautiful technical "art" pictures but were neither practical nor workable as given but they COULD have been sold for money AS art I suppose. Yet I never saw anything outside the patents and patent applications.
Patents can be weird, fun and frustrating all at the same time and I often wonder if THAT more than 'securing ones rights' might not be the ultimate purpose
Randy
www.freepatentsonline.com
