🔔 ALERT: Expired Ideas, Now Yours

Greetings, money hackers!

Today: Why the world's smartest inventor died feeding pigeons, and how to raid a vault of 1,429 patents before anyone notices.

The Story

Thomas Edison once electrocuted an elephant to protect a piece of paper - one that would make him billions while its creator died feeding pigeons.

The creator? A Serbian genius named Tesla, who showed up in New York with four cents and an idea that would power every home in America.

Edison promised him $50,000 to make it work. Tesla delivered in months. Time to get paiddd...

Edison's response? "Nah bro, you don't understand American humor. I was joking about the money."

Bad move…Tesla quits. Starts his own company. Files perfect patents for his AC power system (same one you’re using right now).

Edison watches his former employee revolutionize electricity and does what any rational person would do:

He starts electrocuting elephants to prove Tesla's power was "dangerous." (If this is your idea of good marketing, you need to consider your life choices…)

But while Edison was busy with his electric circus, Tesla was busy becoming the smartest idiot in history.

He sold all his patents outright. One-time payment. No royalties.

Edison? He watched and learned. Filed over 1,000 patents of his own. BUT - he licensed them instead of selling them. Kept getting paid every time someone used his ideas.

Same patents. Different paperwork. That's it.

By 1931, Tesla was feeding pigeons in Central Park, living on milk and crackers.

Meanwhile, Edison had built a $31 billion empire (in today's money) just from patent licensing fees.

"The secret," Edison wrote in his diary, "isn't inventing something new. It's owning something valuable."

This year alone, 39,480 patents are expiring. Some worth millions. Some worth billions.

And this is where YOU come in...

How To Profit

• The Remix Strategy 💡

Take two expired patents from different industries, combine them into something new, and you can patent your hybrid creation.

1. Go to Google Patents 

2. Search "expired [your industry]" + filter by "expired" status

3. Ask: "What's now cheap/easy to make that was once revolutionary?" Then go on Kickstarter and try out your best ideas for market validation.

Example: Last month, I found an expired water filtration patent from 2003. Nothing special. Then I found an expired coffee brewing patent from 1990. Combine them? You've got a cold brew system that purifies tap water while it brews.

That's it. That's the entire secret. Find two revolutionary things that just became free, mix them together, and boom - cash on autopilot.

• Nostalgia never expires 🎮

People will pay 3x more for something that makes them feel like a kid again. And right now, thousands of patents from the 80s and 90s are hitting public domain just as Gen X and Millennials reach their peak earning years.

1. Look for patents that expired in the last 5 years from products that were huge 20-40 years ago

2. Target products that created emotional connections (toys, entertainment, lifestyle)

3. Add modern tech to old favorites

Example: When Polaroid's instant camera patents expired, Fujifilm didn't just copy the technology - they reimagined it. Their Instax cameras added cute designs and better colors. Result? 10 million units sold last year at $70 each. That's more than Polaroid ever sold in their best year.

Pro tip: Look for expired patents where the original R&D and market validation is already done. All you need to do is add modern features to proven winners.

• Patent territory arbitrage 🌎

Some of the world's biggest companies skip patent protection in smaller markets to save money. This creates legal opportunities in places they ignored - if you know where to look.

1. Find valuable patents in your industry (use Google Patents' advanced search)

2. Click "Patent Family" to see where they're protected - and more importantly, where they're not

3. Look for wealthy markets that got skipped (focus on Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe)

Example: Major tech companies often file patents in US/EU/Japan but skip Southeast Asian countries. Local manufacturers in Vietnam and Indonesia have built million-dollar businesses by legally operating in these unprotected territories.

The Ace Segment

Speaking of territory tricks, here's how our boy Ace Victoria played it in 1917:

When aspirin's patent expired in the US but was still protected in Canada, everyone rushed to the border.

Ace? He studied the actual patent claims and realized they only covered "medical uses." So he rebranded aspirin as a "hangover powder" and sold it in Canadian bars. Technically not a medical use.

"The profit," he wrote, "isn't in fighting the patent. It's in finding the gaps nobody sees."

Until next time,

Alex

Founder //LZY MNY CLB