An Inventor's Tale

2011 - Volume #35, Issue #1, Page #05

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An Inventor's Tale

Bill Merendini has three powered wheelbarrows for sale. They were prototypes for a design he patented and sold to a large company. The story behind why he still owns them is a cautionary tale for other inventors trying to get a product to market.
  "It was a great design. We couldn't overload it. It would go right up a hill with anything we could put in it," says Merendini, noting that the thing that set his wheelbarrow apart from anything else on the market was its auto braking transmission. Release the throttle, and the brake activated, preventing the weight from pushing the operator or the load down an incline. A large lawn and garden equipment maker liked the concept and bought the rights.
  "They offered me $150,000 outright, or I could take $50,000 and receive $6 for each unit they sold," he recalls. After looking at research into how many units the company projected they could sell, Merendini took the second option. Unfortunately, he never asked what would happen if the product never made it to market.
  After testing his prototype extensively, the company made some changes and then asked Merendini to build three new prototypes, paying in advance for them. While he was building them the company was sold to a larger corporation.
  When Merendini called the new company to arrange delivery, no one called back. When he finally made contact with management, no one knew anything about his wheelbarrow or the patents. No one was aware of any plans to do anything with it. Eventually Merendini received a letter giving him ownership of the three wheelbarrows he had built, but not the patent. "Perhaps if I had asked for a clause regarding failure-to-market, I would have gotten my patent back, too," he notes.
  All of this happened 15 years ago. The wheelbarrows have never been used and are still clean, fresh and brand new. Their 1.6-hp Tecumseh motors haven't been started since they were put in a warehouse. If anyone is interested, Merendini would sell the three units for $750, plus shipping.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Merendini, P.O. Box 444, Brodheadsville, Penn. 18322 (ph 570 992-5026).

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An Inventor s Tale FARM HOME Miscellaneous Bill Merendini has three powered wheelbarrows for sale They were prototypes for a design he patented and sold to a large company The story behind why he still owns them is a cautionary tale for other inventors trying to get a product to market It was a great design We couldn t overload it It would go right up a hill with anything we could put in it says Merendini noting that the thing that set his wheelbarrow apart from anything else on the market was its auto braking transmission Release the throttle and the brake activated preventing the weight from pushing the operator or the load down an incline A large lawn and garden equipment maker liked the concept and bought the rights They offered me $150 000 outright or I could take $50 000 and receive $6 for each unit they sold he recalls After looking at research into how many units the company projected they could sell Merendini took the second option Unfortunately he never asked what would happen if the product never made it to market After testing his prototype extensively the company made some changes and then asked Merendini to build three new prototypes paying in advance for them While he was building them the company was sold to a larger corporation When Merendini called the new company to arrange delivery no one called back When he finally made contact with management no one knew anything about his wheelbarrow or the patents No one was aware of any plans to do anything with it Eventually Merendini received a letter giving him ownership of the three wheelbarrows he had built but not the patent Perhaps if I had asked for a clause regarding failure-to-market I would have gotten my patent back too he notes All of this happened 15 years ago The wheelbarrows have never been used and are still clean fresh and brand new Their 1 6-hp Tecumseh motors haven t been started since they were put in a warehouse If anyone is interested Merendini would sell the three units for $750 plus shipping Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bill Merendini P O Box 444 Brodheadsville Penn 18322 ph 570 992-5026

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