Changing the World One Invention at a Time

The first patent I ever received was while I was in the U.S. Air Force in my early twenties in the late 1970s. I don’t recall who specifically pointed me in the direction of filing a patent application, but the patent itself came from a suggestion I made to save the USAF money in testing the F4E avionics systems at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. My job required me to keep the squadron of F4Es operational. So I came up with an idea, which resulted in a patent, for a device to test the F4E test system locally, at the air force base, rather than sending it to be repaired across the country. I went on to enjoy a career of over thirty years working at a number of corporations, leading development teams and creating products and innovations covering a wide range of technologies from system technologies and software systems to consumer products. In 2008, I left my position as senior vice president of the intellectual property management department at a Fortune 500 company, where I was the leader of the department. I started getting requests to consult with companies on product innovation, strategy, and intellectual property development. The requests were not from a legal perspective since I am not an attorney, but rather from a practical engineering and innovation perspective. I also helped engineers and product teams integrate product development with the development of ideas, innovations, and patent applications. After successfully supporting requests on these topics, I decided to share the lessons I learned throughout my career with a wider audience by writing a fun and informative book on these topics. As I researched the need for this book, I found many interesting books on the individual topics of innovation, intellectual property, strategy, and new product development. But I didn’t find any books that integrated innovation with patent development from a practical or creative perspective. So I thought perhaps a book with a fresh perspective from my experience, incorporating a large number of easy-to-understand examples, might be valuable for everyone, from a person with an idea to entrepreneurs, businesspeople, engineers, and companies trying to develop new ideas, innovations, products, and markets. As such, this book will present the information you need to transform your ideas into patent applications. The patent application provides the format to thoroughly describe your idea while also establishing your role in conceiving it. I will also show you how to evolve your existing ideas, develop new ideas, and transform those ideas into patent applications. I struggled with the examples to use for this book, as many of my patents relate to complex technology and are generally very technical. Thus I worked to inspire your creative side and motivate you to innovate and invent while I simultaneously explain the patent process. I demonstrate the process by using fun examples without adding the additional burden of requiring you to understand the underlying technology detail. Hopefully you will enjoy these lighthearted, fun examples. Many of the examples I used came from a patent portfolio developed as part of a company I started named Think Tek, Inc.–Think Globally based in Las Vegas, Nevada, which includes all sorts of inventions. For those readers wanting more detail associated with how a patent application is formatted and written, I have included sections from a couple of the patent applications that were filed related to the included examples. Being a college-educated engineer with a wonderful career of practical experience, I found my engineering logic oftentimes clashed with my creative childlike self, who interrupted my logical thinking as deadlines loomed over my head with simple questions, such as “Why is that the only way to solve the problem?” “Is there a better solution for the product?” “How can we solve this problem creatively?” Those simple questions, along with new ideas and better ways to solve the problem at hand, often clashed with the project deadline and need to get something out the door. So I needed a process where I could transform the solutions I developed from the questions I asked into inventions and document them for future products. I found the patent process was a great way to focus my creative energy and, in some cases, the patent process enabled me to document my ideas until the marketplace caught up. I have actually heard management executives say, “Ah ha, that is exactly what the market needs.” Of course, this was three or four years after I had fi led a patent application on the idea. So this book will help reinforce why you should always trust your gut and act on the ideas you have. Others may just not “get it” … yet. I evolved this approach based on my experience into an easy-to-use process that I call the Creatively Inventing Framework. The Creatively Inventing Framework is intended to assist individual inventors and teams in transforming ideas into patent applications; it demonstrates how to solve problems, organize ideas, and integrate creative ideas into products using easy-to-follow instructional steps in a natural problem solving methodology. The Creatively Inventing Framework includes three stand-alone parts, described in specific chapters. Each of these parts may be used alone or may be combined as desired. For example, individual inventors may wish to use Part I and Part II of the framework, while development teams may wish to use only Part III of the framework. Regardless, the intent of each part is to simply provide a guide through specific aspects of the patent process as presented. Along the way, you will read about the patent professionals who will ultimately help you write the patent application that will be fi led with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and who will manage the interaction with the USPTO1 related to your patent application. There is also a chapter with a team emphasis for inventor teams, team leaders, executives, and management staff who are searching for a repeatable innovation methodology and strategy for their businesses that can be used to establish a competitive edge. Individual inventors may also find the concepts in this chapter helpful as well. Do all of your ideas and innovations need to be patented? Not at all; in fact, you may decide not to file patent applications on some of your ideas for any number of reasons. But should you decide to file for patent protection, this book will provide information you need to know. Now, as we begin our creative journey through the patent process, remember, all it takes is one great idea to change the world. Perhaps it is your idea?