Anderson was unable to capitalize on her invention, and other companies were able to profit from her invention without paying her.
The sequence of events that explains why Anderson did not make any money from her patent is as follows:
- Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903.
- She patented her invention in 1905.
- She tried to sell her patent to a Canadian company, but they refused to buy it.
- She tried to sell her patent to other companies, but none of them were interested.
- Anderson did not have enough money to market and manufacture her invention herself.
- Other companies began to make and sell windshield wipers without her permission.
- Anderson could not afford to sue the companies for patent infringement.
- Anderson's patent expired in 1920.
- Anderson never made any money from her invention.
The image of Mary Anderson and the First Windshield Wipers confirms this sequence of events. The image shows Anderson with a model of her windshield wiper invention. The text below the image states that Anderson "failed to sell her patent to any manufacturer" and that "her patent expired in 1920 without her making any money from her invention."
In addition to the information in the image, we can also infer that Anderson did not make any money from her patent because she did not have the business acumen or resources to bring her invention to market. She was a single woman with no business experience. She also did not have the financial resources to manufacture and market her invention on her own.