Ha! my kids and I both have a drawer full of invention copyrights, but don't you wish someone ELSE will invent a certain thing?
I, for one, am wondering,if they have dark chocolate (which is good for you) and they have vitamin gummies, (also good for you), why don't they put them together? Imagine fruit gel candies in chocolate which is good for you? Yum!
What do you think someone should come up with?
My mother used say that if you want something done right, do it yourself. Overall, I have found this to be true.
As an engineer, I have both had patents and been on patents with teams that I was a contributing part of. When I retired, I have taken short term contract engineering work and on one occasion, the company wanted me to initiate the application for patent on some work I had done. I turned it over to the team lead because I didn't want to stay for the duration of the patent application and really don't care for all the paperwork and dealing with attorneys.
For engineers, patents are a normal part of the job. So it really isn't a particularly big deal, but we do have that experience as a part of our work experience. Intellectual property (IP) is important to a company's value and is a means of protecting their work. So it is typical that at the end of a project, attorneys will swoop down and interrogate the engineers, looking for patentable development. Typically to the engineers, the work just seems normal and not of particular interest for patents, but to the attorneys, there is usually something they feel is worth pursuing. Often, to the surprise of the engineers, patents do come out of that work. The good thing for the engineers is that most companies I have worked for anyway, there is a decent bonus for a patent that goes all the way.
A patent is a rather expensive undertaking. You essentially ask for the world and continually whittle away at the scope of the patent as other companies successfully challenge it due to prior art. At some point, the company may decide the scope is too small to offer any value and the application is dropped. A percentage of patent applications do go all the way. I have had those and it does look good on a resume.
There are also many rules that can disqualify a patent that involve how much exposure the thing you invented has had prior to the patent application. So if you decide to go for patenting an invention, get a competent patent attorney early on. Also, you have to decide whether the patent should involve your own country or include other countries. In the commercial world, patents are usually global.
So, yes, I suppose I would want somebody else to do the inventing at this point in my life. To me, it is too much paperwork.
As to the OP's question, I don't have any particular ideas at the moment. However, usually when somebody asks a question for which I don't have a ready response, my mind (or what is left of it) will continue to churn on it and eventually something will pop out.
Tony
