Posts Tagged: "Children"

How patent laws are harming children and America’s innovative future

The Young Inventor’s Showcase is nothing short of an amazing academic program in 56 Houston area grade schools. The program teaches grade school kids the entire innovation system from problem identification to the store shelves. The class wraps up with an inventor competition judged by members of the Houston Inventors Association… All of these inventions were disclosed without even a provisional patent application being filed. This isn’t just a concern for the Houston Young Inventors Showcase, but is a problem for all science fairs and similar events. It has always been a bit of a concern because once you disclose an invention it is no longer patentable in many countries, but up until March of 2013 disclosure in the U.S. prior to filing a patent application did not create a patent problem here.

Flavored Straw Provides Delivery Mechanism for Medicine

Another benefit of the straws is that in addition to milk and other beverages, it can also be used as a delivery method for children who usually have an aversion to medicines and other necessary vitamins or tonics. According to the press release from the company, “the technology can be used to deliver not only flavorings, but nutritional and therapeutic compositions such as probiotics and medications, greatly expanding its uses.” This could be good news for any parent who has fought with their child to take their medication. Ill-tasting medication can be disguised with a more favorable taste by using a flavored straw to drink it.