halfbakery currenty embodies and esposues a "free range thinktank" based on community and rapid meme prototyping (ideas get posted and get commented on immediately).

Commercial ventures like Idealab! are the same sort of thing, albeit working under a closed model with the end of creating companies, usually in the often-abused area of "internet marketspace" which spin off from Idealab! into separate entities (for insulation reasons and also to maximize/minimize returns/losses).

So why can't halfbakery cash in too? There are similar community models, like SourceXchange and what not, but they're inherently more corporate. I'd propose to run halfbakery much as it is now, with the only modification that ideas can be purchased/licensed/bought from the poters and contributors using electronic contracts (yes, this ties into all my work with erights and "DC-nets", mab knows what I'm talking about, I'm sure ;] ).

I'm planning to propose a prototype system that would enbale this kind of thing, plus more at EFCE2K (http://www.efce.net), seeing as how I've hit on it here more than once. I'll let everyone here know as well what's going on when I work out the details with my employer.