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.

• Drivers for invention

• The lone inventor

• Intellectual property (IP)

• Strategies for protecting IP: patents, trademarks, design protection, copyright.

• First to market

• Shelved technologies

• Drivers for invention include personal motivation to express creativity/for personal interest, scientific or technical curiosity, constructive discontent, desire to make money, desire to help others

• The advantages and disadvantages of being a lone inventor

• Benefits of IP include differentiating a business from competitors, selling or licensing to provide revenue streams, offering customers something new and different, marketing/branding, its value as an asset

• IP symbols and their application to products and services: patent pending, ™, ®, ©, SM

• The effectiveness of strategies for protecting IP

• Reasons why some innovators decide not to protect their IP and alternative strategies to ensure success

• Reasons why some patented inventions are shelved

Inventions are often the result of an individual or group’s curiosity about whether something can be done or a problem can be solved. On occasion, inventions are the result of an individual’s curiosity about something other than the product that they finally develop. These inventions include microwave ovens, ink-jet printers and Post-it® notes.