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It's a pretty incredible invention / discovery on Peter Parker's part, according to Wikipedia:

Shortly after getting his powers, Peter Parker develops a special synthetic polymer adhesive that has spider web-like properties, as well as wrist-worn launching devices.

Upon release, the webbing dries into an extremely tough, flexible, adhesive fiber. One account described a single strand as stronger than piano wire and it is perhaps as strong as real spider silk or Kevlar.

In Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide, one strand of webbing is described to be strong enough to bind the Hulk and hold him prisoner, but only if the Hulk were to hold still and let the webbing sufficiently dry.

But has he ever sold it or profited from it in a financial way?

I'm sure the cash could help out himself and Aunt May, not that they're desperately poor, but that extra income would surely make things easier.

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    "that extra income would surely make things easier." Financially it might easier, though fighting the bad guys would be harder once they have access to the webbing tech.. ;)
    – Andrew Thompson
    Mar 31, 2015 at 9:27
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    @AndrewThompson lol, ah yes... I didn't think of that! I probably wouldn't make a good Spiderman.
    – Daft
    Mar 31, 2015 at 9:32
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    You mean as a web designer? SCNR
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Mar 31, 2015 at 15:15
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    In Amazing Spider Man #663, we see that Peter has sold patents for a considerable number of his inventions and is becoming filthy rich. He still holds onto the designs for his webshooters, though.
    – Valorum
    Mar 31, 2015 at 19:44
  • @Richard that could be a very interesting answer!
    – Daft
    Mar 31, 2015 at 19:45

2 Answers 2

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As mentioned in this answer, he did try to sell it once, but the company he pitched didn’t go for it because it dissolves after an hour:

Spider-Man tries to sell his webbing to a company

Useless!

Also, as this excellent answer mentions, Stan Lee intended Spider-Man to be an everyday guy with everyday problems, like having to struggle with money. A nice juicy patent would kinda wreck that aspect of the character.

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    @Zibbobz: and if I’d said "Would kind of wreck the character", you’d have a point. But I didn’t.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Mar 31, 2015 at 13:55
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    Even a temporary glue that consistently lasts x number of minutes before dissolving without side effects and has a load strength of hundred of pounds would be worth billions in construction. Look at post its.
    – user16696
    Mar 31, 2015 at 14:22
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    I bet they could rehash this as Parker selling it, they take the formula, give him a few hundred then screw him over on the rest of the money like the corporate scum they are. What is puny parker gonna do, sue them? Now that's a realistic everyman story
    – user16696
    Mar 31, 2015 at 17:42
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    "A nice juicy patent" Not to mention make Peter Parker a target for famously inventing the webbing, unless the government would be willing to give a patent to Spiderman. (Isn't there an early comic where Spiderman can't get paid for wrestling because he won't give the employer a SS#?)
    – jpmc26
    Apr 1, 2015 at 0:01
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    @FuzzyBoots - Spider-Man's webs are usually said to last an hour, but the plot necessitated that they dissolve much faster in this scene in order to quickly demonstrate their lack of permanency to the prospective buyers.
    – LogicDictates
    Dec 4, 2020 at 0:06
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No, he has not.

As noted in Paul D. Waite's answer, he did once try to sell his webbing to pay for his aunt's medical bills, but the prospective buyers rejected it on the basis that it dissolved too quickly. Peter noted that he could've reworked the formula to make it permanent, but that it would've taken months of lab work, and he needed the money urgently.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #18

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In a much later issue, Tony Stark told him that he was leaving "millions on the table" by not patenting and selling his webbing, but it was intimated that he'd need to reveal his true identity in order to do that, and he couldn't do that because it'd mean putting his loved ones in danger.

Invincible Iron Man Vol 2 #7

enter image description here

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