An independent inventor is an inventor that makes and owns inventions for his or herself.[1] They often earn their income from licensing the patents they get on their inventions. Independent inventors may be characterized as patent trolls since they license, but do not practice their inventions.
Independent inventors are distinguished from inventors that work for corporations. Inventors that work for corporations, such as research scientists, must normally assign their ownership rights to their inventions to corporations as a condition for their employment.
