>
> That still leaves my employer with this nice sum of money coming in each
> month, I am not talking about money before doing an invention
> like this I am
> talking about some monetary reward to make it worth my while to
> continue to
> spew good idea's (at the moment I see no reason to give them 4 more patent
> able ideas I have)
>

Like Andy, I've been on both sides of this thing.  When I was an employee
part of my employment agreement stated that any work I did for the company
belonged to the company.  In return I expected and got a reasonable paycheck
and except for some underfunded startups I got involved with, they usually
delivered.

If you have some patentable ideas, which must also be marketable or they are
worthless, take the plunge and go off on you own to develop them.  The only
personal reward I found greater than building neat circuits has been
building my own company from scratch.

In 1995 we got involved in project that cost me over $100k before I
recognized we could never sell it at a reasonable profit.  I pulled the plug
on it and ate the costs.  I didn't do proper marketing research early and
learned an expensive lesson.  I didn't get a pay check that year, but I
managed not to lay off any employees.  They didn't share in the risk or the
consequences to the extent I did.  There is absolutely no obligation on my
part to share the rewards with my employees.  But with good employees being
so hard to find, I would be crazy not to.

Take the leap and find out what it's really like for the company you work
for.  Then you'll really know whether you are doing your job because you
love it, or because someone pays you for it.

Mark Walsh