Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[chipboarder]

No link but a long background in R&D gives me some insight into the situation. Add all the names on the patents and assume each team of researchers is one PhD Scientist and 2 Research Technicians with all listed on the patent. Labor + benefits for the 3 is $300k/year but figure a million once they start spending money on all the things they need to accomplish their work. The Research Team enlists the engineers to reduce concept to reality and that is where they start spending the big money on equipment and developing the idea to establish feasibility. Long process with many dead ends. Now go look at the patents and look at the diversity of the research and the breadth cited in the claims. The breadth is huge and the effort is in "man-years"....could be 6 people for 6 months but that is still 3 man-years. Don't forget the technical writers (scientists don't waste time writing patents) and , of course the attorneys to do the filing. So you have the material science guys for metallurgical, the engineers to make it work and optimize the process (remember all the work on "cooling rates" and getting to thicker cross sections?) and then reducing to a form the protects the technology but doesn't give away the farm (the patents). How many Engel machines do you think Apple has? (or maybe not Engel). Already way too long!