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Conceptual Understandings:
Invention by lone inventors or in collaborative, creative teams is at the forefront of design.
Designers must not only be creative and innovative, but also understand the concepts that will make a new product viable.
A designer must use imagination and be firmly grounded in factual and procedural knowledge while remembering the needs and limitations of the end user.
Invention is the process of discovering a principle which allows a technical advance in a particular field that results in a novel/new product.
Drivers for invention/Motivation for Invention include:
A personal motivation to invent in order to express one’s creativity or personal interest
Constructive discontent with an existing invention/design
Desire to help others
Desire to make money
Desire to make money
Desire to make money
Terminology and language associated with Invention
Constructive discontent: Analysing a situation that could benefit from a re-design, and then working out a strategy to improve it
Inventive ideas can sometimes arise because existing technology or design proves to be unsatisfactory in some way – maybe too costly, too inefficient or too dangerous. Using a product or process for a while can reveal inadequacies in its performance and is often vital preparation for producing ideas for improvements. You may have become dissatisfied either with an existing product or process or with the fact that something doesn't exist to meet a need you've identified. But creative individuals go further than this unfocused dissatisfaction and actually try to do something about it.
James Dyson became dissatisfied with the wheel of a conventional wheelbarrow sinking into sand and soft soil so in 1974 he re-invented the wheel. His Ball-barrow is designed with a ball-shaped wheel to ride over soft ground without sinking and to absorb the shock when used on rough ground. It also has feet that don't sink in the mud and a plastic bin that doesn't rust – both drawbacks of previous wheelbarrows he'd used.
The lone inventor: is an individual working outside or inside an organisation who is committed to the invention of a novel product and often becomes isolated because he or she is engrossed with ideas that imply change and are resisted by others.
Individuals such as Leonardo Da Vinci or James Dyson had a goal of the complete invention of a new and somewhat revolutionary product.
Have ideas that are completely new and different.
May not comprehend or give sufficient care to the marketing and sales of their product.
Are usually isolated, and have no backing towards their design.
Are having a harder time to push forward their designs, especially in a market where large investments are required for success.
Their ideas, because of how different they are are often resisted by other employees and workers.
Full control over the development of their invention
Lack business acumen (ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions)
Driven: with a goal of the complete invention of a new and somewhat revolutionary product
May not comprehend or give sufficient care to the marketing and sales of their product
Have ideas that are completely new and different (radical and not incremental)
Their ideas, because of how different they are are often resisted by other employees and workers.
Are having a harder time to push forward their designs, especially in a market where large investments are required for success
Are usually isolated, and have no backing towards their design.
Trouble working in teams because of their emotional attraction to their invention
Intellectual Property (IP) is a legal term for intangible property such as "creations of the mind" such as inventions and designs that are used in a commercial setting. Intellectual property is protected by law and includes inventions, designs, art, music, literature, etc.
The benefits of intellectual property include:
differentiating a business from competitors
allowing sale or licensing, providing an important revenue stream
offering customers something new and different
marketing/branding
establishing a valuable asset that can be used as security for loans.
Effective strategies for protecting IP
℗ Patents: “An agreement from a government office to give someone the right to make or sell a new invention for a certain number of years”. E.g. Whole product including the shape and technology.
Anything made by a human directly/ indirectly.
Think about Patent Trolling and access to life saving medication in developing countries.
Patent pending: An indication that an application for a patent has been applied for but has not yet been processed. The marking serves to notify those copying the invention that they may be liable for damages (including back-dated royalties), once a patent is issued. Depending on the country of patent.
® Registered Design: A design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation which gives a product a unique appearance, and must be new and distinctive.’ E.g. Shape of a product- Aston Martin car, Airpod shape, Rayban.
Designs that depend on the functionality can not be registered, anything that is patentable can not be registered as design. (I think)
™ Trademarks: The registered trademark symbol is a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. E.g. Logo such as Apple, Nike, McDonalds.
Think about quality to consumers.
℠ Service Mark: A trademark used to identify a service rather than a product. E.g. Rentokil, Initial Hygiene, Security companies.
© Copyright: A legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, and within geographical boundaries allows the creator to receive compensation for their intellectual effort. E.g. Music, Film/movies, Book, Poetry, Stories.
Facts can not be copyrighted but the expression in the way they are presented can be.
I have created this text during the holiday, and was not asked to do it, however I did it on a school computer and through a school account. School is therefore the creator.
Case Study
The alternative
First to market is when a company or a person has or thinks they have an innovative idea or product, therefore will rush to have it on the market before anyone else. Some innovators decide not to protect their IP as an alternative strategy to ensure success by allowing them to get first to market rather than spend money on patents or waste time.
Why things fail
Shelved technologies are products, ideaw, technology that are shelved for various reasons.
These include:
Social: Market not ready for change, or the market perceives product as unsafe (e.g. collision avoidance in cars), others include cultural reasons (e.g. Amish beliefs around use of technology)
Technological: The science and underpinning ideas have been developed, but technology is not resolved enough to introduce the product. eg. flexible phones
Timing: Products are released in a strategic order. The iPad could have been released before the iPhone, but Apple didn’t want to confuse the market with new products in that order.
Cost effectiveness: The technology is available, but the cost of using it in products makes it too expensive for the consumer. eg. 3D printers for home use - although this is changing now.
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