Inventor of Cell Phone Sold Patent Rights for $1

ThatÂ’s right!  Martin Cooper, the man directly responsible for the multi-gazillion dollar mobile phone industry (and indirectly responsible for the rising case of brain cancer according so some studies), sold the rights to his invention to his company, Motorola, for a buck.

The Dyna-Tac, a mobile that doubled as 2.5 pound dumbbell, was the first ever retail model to hit the market back in 1983. Its weight was not the heaviest part of it, however, its $4000 price tag was. “I signed away all my patent rights to Motorola for a dollar when I joined the company and don’t get any royalties,” he says. “But I earned a few dollars with stock options and I still have the $1 check they gave me.” Oh, so he got the entire company, instead? Well played!

ThatÂ’s right!  Martin Cooper, the man directly responsible for the multi-gazillion dollar mobile phone industry (and indirectly responsible for the rising case of brain cancer according so some studies), sold the rights to his invention to his company, Motorola, for a buck.

The Dyna-Tac, a mobile that doubled as 2.5 pound dumbbell, was the first ever retail model to hit the market back in 1983. Its weight was not the heaviest part of it, however, its $4000 price tag was. “I signed away all my patent rights to Motorola for a dollar when I joined the company and don’t get any royalties,” he says. “But I earned a few dollars with stock options and I still have the $1 check they gave me.” Oh, so he got the entire company, instead? Well played!