Invention and Innovation What is an invention Throughout

Invention and Innovation

What is an invention? § Throughout history, humans have created new artifacts and structures. § The process they used is called invention and innovation.

§ An invention is the creation of a new, unique item, artifact or process. § The inventive process starts with recognition of a need, want, or desire.

Innovations § Innovations are improvements or extensions made to already existing devices. § Many of the things we use today are innovations of the original invention.

When was it invented? Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone in what year?

1876 The invention…

The innovations

When was it invented? When did Guglielmo Marconi receive his patent for the first wireless radio?

1896 The invention…

The innovations…

When was it invented? When was the first counting machine invented?

3000 BC The invention…

The innovations…

Whitcomb Judson zipper s r o t n e v In d an s n o i t n e v n I r i e h t Wright Brothers First powered airplane

Thomas Edison Phonograph George Washington Carver Light bulb New uses for crops such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, and pecans

Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets § Patents provide exclusive rights to make, use, import, sell, and offer for sale an invention for up to 20 years. § There are 3 types of patents.

3 Types of Patents § Utility patents protect useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. § Examples of utility patents include fiber optics, computer hardware, and medications. )

§ Design patents guard the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. § The look of an athletic shoe, a bicycle helmet, and the Star Wars characters are all protected by design patents.

§ Plant patents are the way we protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties. § Hybrid tea roses, Silver Queen corn, and Better Boy tomatoes are all types of plant patents.

§ Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services. § Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in business. § The roar of the MGM lion, the pink of the insulation made by Owens-Corning (who uses the Pink Panther in advertising by permission from its owner), and the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle are familiar trademarks.

§ Copyrights protect works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed. § The Library of Congress registers copyrights which last for the life of the author plus 70 years. § Gone With The Wind (the book and the film), Back Street Boys’ recordings, and video games are all works that are copyrighted.

§ Trade secrets are information that companies keep secret to give them an advantage over their competitors. § Coca-Cola is the most famous trade secret.

§ If you are an intellectual property owner, you should protect your rights. If you are a user, you should respect them. § It is just as wrong to steal intellectual property as it is to break into a home, steal a car, or rob a bank.

Patent Facts § The first patent was granted in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia for “making pot and pearl ashes”, a cleaning formula used in soap making. § The youngest person to be granted a patent is a four year old girl from Houston, Texas for an aid used to grasp round knobs.