Posts Tagged: "kids"

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.

USPTO Launches Redesigned KIDS! Web Pages

The USPTO announced the launch of its newly redesigned KIDS! Web pages aimed to encourage students of all ages to learn about the importance of intellectual property (IP) creation and protection. In addition to featuring young inventor profiles, activities, and videos, the pages also offer curricula that link Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education to IP and innovation through downloadable lesson plans, hands-on instructions for building inventions, USPTO career information and other useful resources.