Tim_Tex wrote:
If I were to come up with a good invention, submitted a patent application, but left actual design to actual engineers, who gets the patent credit?
Your best bet is to submit the Patent application before bringing in the extra effort for detail design work.
You came up with and patented the idea, so it is your credit. Your engineers didn't come up with the basic idea, instead they take payment to do the detailed work to bring Your idea to the point it can be manufactured and give direct sales return. Alternatively you might choose to.employ a patent lawyer and grant a licence to others to manufacture the item, or incorporate your idea into a larger project in return for patent royalty payments.
Watt and Bolton made their money not by Building their steam engines but by licensing engine builders to make Bolton and Watt engines rather than less efficient designs like Newcomen or Savary. In return for the payment the engine builders received Watt's detailed engineering drawings from which to build the engine, and a counter/ Meter device and the engine owner paid Boulton and Watt a royalty based on the saving on coal per revolution compared to the inferior Newcomen engine or positively dangerous Savary " Miners Friend" borderline steam bomb.