I suspect any funds received will be used as justification for cutting the budget in the future so the hope for a better funded NASA will be thrown under the bus.
If the patents were made available to the general public, as are many other government assets, then competition would keep prices in check for those who exploit these assets. Even leasing them for a royalty stream wouldn't help (IMO) since that revenue stream would undoubtedly be cited as reason to cut the NASA budget, while any licensee would bring home big profits if they had exclusive use of the patent(s).
The only way we the people could benefit is if the property were made available to the public at large.
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I suspect any funds received will be used as justification for cutting the budget in the future so the hope for a better funded NASA will be thrown under the bus. If the patents were made available to the general public, as are many other government assets, then competition would keep prices in check for those who exploit these assets. Even leasing them for a royalty stream wouldn't help (IMO) since that revenue stream would undoubtedly be cited as reason to cut the NASA budget, while any licensee would bring home big profits if they had exclusive use of the patent(s). The only way we the people could benefit is if the property were made available to the public at large.