Ok So I have a question about energy generation. So hypothetical scenario,
Let's say someone came up with some sort of way to generate energy, this person or persons want to market it by selling electricity. The key though is they don't want to patent it because of disclosure and everybody would be able to see how there generator( way of generating) works, So they decide that keeping it a trade secret would work best because then only they know how it works.

So if they wanted to build a generating plant and sell electricity while keeping they way it worked a trade-secret, what kinda of legal issues would they run into. Also let's just say it's not radioactive or anything harmful to the environment. So what would the Department of Energy want to know. Would they let them build it if it was kept a trade-secret and only a few needed personal knew how it worked. What if they inspected and found nothing harmful, would they still allow it if they don't know what is actually generating the power. Also it would be set up so the control system would work just like normal, Just if something breaks o something, only a few would be able to inspect the generator and crucial trade-secret systems.


So basically where would I find information on what you need to generate power on a commercial scale. (licensing, permit's, inspections etc.)

Hypothetical too, so imagine the generator is whatever you want, Even over-unity (IMPOSSIBLE), lol. I just want to know what the government would do in this situation, because the generator itself is not patented, so the company would have to keep it secret from everyone except key personal (Electrical Engineer's, Execs, Few others)

 

It's kinda of like how Coca-Cola keeps there recipe a trade secret. Only they know exactly what is in it and how it is made, Not even the FDA know's for sure, They probably test it to make sure it is not harmful but they still don't know what exactly is in it and how it is made

So it's kinda the same thing, just with energy Generation instead

 

I suspect your best bet is to sell a patent. In most cases patents aren't worth much, but if the idea is truly unique you need to have your name firmly attached (which is why I would copyright the plans first), then sell it quickly to a business that will handle the legal hassles sure to follow. If possible aim for a very small percentage of every unit made (say 0.01%).


I've never bought the argument about Coke. Besides, which recipe? The first one could get you brought up on drug charges. Then there is the fiasco about Classic and New Coke. I heard a theory about that one concerning the change over to corn syrup that they didn't want the public to notice.

 

umm in this case your only making one and it is for generating energy on the scale of a powerplant. So getting the patent would basicaly tell anyone and everyone how it works and then it only last's for 20 years or so then it is public.


Also, say the company or person could fund the building and operating of the plant too, so there is no need to sell the idea. So what sort of issues would they run into with the Government.

 

Dude, the idea is going to be stolen, there is no preventing that. If it is truly valuable and you have it really locked down then your heirs will get nothing after you drop dead of mysterious causes.

Right now energy is a national security issue, and even if your idea is really spectacular you don't have the resources to follow up on it. You might even find the government the ones stealing it. This isn't something unique to our government, even when our government was at its best there is someone willing to cheat you for the common good.

You might get a start up company going, but in the end you will loose everything because someone with lots of money will steal it.

Such is life.

 

When it is something like a recipe or difficult piece of computer algorithm, yes it might be worth it to keep it a secret. When it is a scientific or engineering process, no, someone will quickly be able to duplicate the process and take out a patent. Then you will lose out to the owner of the patent.

 

Yea I kind of figured that much would happen, lol. You see the problem I saw with patent's is that then your intentionally telling them how it works and then there is the issue of if you even get the patent, which if you don't then you have already disclosed it and told anyone wanting to know how to do it how it works, lol. So that is why I though in a case such as that, a trade secret would be the best bet.

 

I kinda figured also in something like this, you would boobytrap the device, so any unauthorized access would set the device to fry itself and all circuitry and then ignite a thermite bomb to melt everything inside the case which I figured the generator, which would be the trade secret would be locked up inside a huge metal container with really thick walls, lol

 

There are two holy grails in energy science, cold fusion and room temperature super conductivity. Success in either or both of these areas would revolutionize all of modern society. The first person to achieve either would not be able to patent it and the process would become public knowledge fairly quickly.

 

Your only choice would be to gather all the intelligent industrialists together to hide out in a secret place until such time that mankind no longer stole trade secrets.

 

And that could be somewhat difficult finding intelligent industrialists... a bit of an oxymoron.

 

Yea that is the part that sucks. You would never really be able to make any money from it because of the fact of how revolutionary it is and how many people would steal it even if it was patented. Do you think china is not going to steal it or any other country, just because it is patented, even if it is patented in there own country, lol

 

Like I said, sell it to a big company. You are small change, and if you can negotiate a percentage it will add up fast.

They have teams of lawyers just waiting for something to do.

 

lol Well I wish I did have one, This was just a question that i had when i was searching some over unity forum. I like looking through them just to see what kind's of thing's people have made and think will produce infinite energy, lol.
But I started to think that what would someone do if they really did find something that did work, how would that person go about it.


So yeah that is where all this originated. I just wish I actually had something that did that, lol

 

Make a really big gyroscope, perpendicular to earths rotation. It will turn a full rotation every 24 hours, gear it up and there is your free energy. How's that?

 

lol, good one, it's still getting the energy from the earths rotation though. It would be free in the sense that you don't really have to do anything after it is built though.

 

Make a really big gyroscope, perpendicular to earths rotation. It will turn a full rotation every 24 hours, gear it up and there is your free energy. How's that?

tisk tisk bill. trying to get him to bite; that's called entrapment and it's not very nice.

 

How about using the principle of Foucault pendulum to generate energy in a large scale. Just doodling here of course

 

Dude, the idea is going to be stolen, there is no preventing that.

Bill has a point. No great idea is going to stay secret forever. Someone will find a way to get a hold of it. At least if you patent it you have a fighting chance.

 

You simply PRETEND to build a normal generator plant, complete with all the fixings, and let everyone see it being built. Then secretly install the mystery machine and let it do the generating. Nobody cares because they think the electricity coming out of the plant is made in the normal ways. You could even have a working power plant that seems to be super efficient with fuel usage because the secret generator is also generating power and reducing your operating costs by half, or something like that.

Much easier to keep a secret if it doesn't seem to BE a secret.