entire interest in the patent, in the same manner that a person would
sell a piece of real estate. This is a very good method and one of the
quickest ways for the patentee to turn his invention into money, though
it must be remembered that to sell a patent outright is usually for a
very much smaller sum than could be realized if handled by other
methods.

The day for obtaining enormous sums or fortunes from the sale of a
patent outright is past; at present to realize any considerable amount,
the patentee generally has to share in the risks as well as the profits,
unless the invention is very highly developed, and even then he cannot
expect to get as much out of an outright assignment as he could by
sharing in the success of the invention commercially. If, however, the
patentee is content to take the utmost cash his patent will bring him
outright, he is assured of a principal or lump sum, free from any
chances of the article not selling well when placed upon the market.

Before signing and delivering the assignment, the patentee will, of
course, see that he has the consideration, or its equivalent, for which
the assignment is made. If the transaction is made through
correspondence he should send the assignment duly executed to the
purchaser through the bank or express C. O. D. for the amount.

[Sidenote: Assigning an Undivided Interest.]

In a preceding chapter, the dangers and disadvantages of an undivided
interest are set forth, and it cannot be considered a wise course under
any consideration to part with any undivided interest in the
proprietorship of the patent, unless unusually well paid, or there
exists an agreement of copartnership between the patentee and the
assignee. By such an assignment, no matter how small, the patentee loses
control of his patent.

[Sidenote: Dividing a Patent into Different Classes of Rights.]

Many patents, from the nature of the invention, can be subdivided into
different classes of rights, and each class sold or granted separately
as the patentee may choose. Thus, the patentee of a tire, or other
appliances for a bicycle, could license one party to make the same for
bicycles and another for automobiles. In like manner a car-coupler could
be divided between those who build railway equipments and those who
build street-cars, and so on.

Goodyear, the inventor of the process of vulcanizing rubber, divided
his patent up into many different rights, licensing one company for
manufac