The Global History of Patents
Patents have long held a distinction in human history, much further back than most realize. Like many aspects of life, it started with our most primal necessity: food. Robin Jacob, a British intellectual property expert, believes the earliest concept of a patent was in 600 BC. A chef had created “some kind of newfangled loaf …
Read moreEvolving Inventions: Reinventing the Already Invented
Where do some inventors get the inspiration they need in order to revolutionize a product? The simple answer would be nature. Nature has solved most of the problems we face with evolution over the years. While most products change many times between concept and production, occasionally a product makes it all the way to market …
Read moreInventing Fundamentals, Part 1: The Building Blocks
So you’ve decided it’s time to start working on your invention. Maybe you have an idea already in mind, maybe you’re hoping inspiration will strike while you’re working. Either way, before you can build a working model, you need to start with the fundamentals. Here are the building blocks to any great invention. (These are …
Read moreVirtual Reality and the Future of Invention
The idea of virtual reality, as we know it, is recent. People living a century ago wouldn’t have any way of picturing headsets capable of reading our movements and translating them into a 3D digital space. But they did have their own version of virtual reality, even if it doesn’t resemble what we imagine today. …
Read moreWhen Should I Promote My Product on Social Media?
For inventors, traditional advertising isn’t always the best option. Commercials are expensive to produce and you buy time for them to run on the air. While you could film and edit them yourself, a subpar commercial will often make your product look terrible. This is why many inventors are turning to social media to promote …
Read moreHow (and Why) to Improve Your Sketches
Inventors have a large toolbox filled with different skills and talents, and sketching should be somewhere in the mix. Making quality sketches is a talent, and it’s a talent that all inventors should work on. If the rough drafts of your new product or idea don’t impress, it’s that much harder to get funding or …
Read moreWhat To Do If You Can’t Draw
You’ve tried everything to create a visual representation of your invention to no avail. Any attempts at sketching even the roughest draft have failed miserably. Or perhaps you have a disability preventing you from being able to draw. Regardless of the reasoning, what can you do? You simply can’t draw. If you or anyone you …
Read moreThe Best Apps for Sketching
Copyright, Patent, and Trademark: What’s the Difference?
If you’ve ever used the terms patent, copyright, and trademark interchangeably, you’re not alone. The difference between the three can sometimes feel negligible at best. Instead of mistaking definitions, however, here’s a brief overview of each term and how they apply to the confusing world of intellectual property. NOTE: While this is a general guide …
Read moreInventions That Are (Surprisingly) Not Patented
If you ever invent something original and useful, one of the first things you’ll hear is “make sure you get it patented!” It seems like solid advice- after all, a patent gives you the right to stop others from making, selling or using your idea without permission. But there are plenty of ideas, products, and …
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