I think the notion of T-A being particularly secretive is a little overstated. IIRC, they started with $12m in support from Paul Allen and another investor and later added $40m, all private investment. Private investors do not have the same reasons to share their accomplishments that those supported by public funds do. So long as the investors understand what's going on well enough to know they're not being flim-flammed, they're happy to keep things quiet. You can bet the investors in T-A have their own hired guns to be sure they're not being scammed, so the quiet makes sense.Skipjack wrote:They also got quite some substantial funding from Paul Allen, IIRC.
The question is, if this patent is just another baseless attempt, as you say.
What have they been so secretive about the past years?
Without the FOIA, we probably wouldn't know much about the Poly just because the Navy doesn't have a stake in making the research public. Others who have trouble getting funding like Lerner, are forced to be very public. Still others like Woodward, have a revulsion toward private science so do everything very publicly but even this has other reasons. By going very public, one can hope to avoid classification if a project succeeds.
Just saying, I think T-A often gets accused of poor intentions when really, keeping their work quiet seems very natural given the work they do and the competition they have. It's not like a national lab. Those investors hope to make a bundle. Why share any expertise they have and hand away the hoped-for prize?