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It’s sometimes said that there’s an inventor in all of us and that it just takes the right problem or situation to bring it out. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find an inventor or innovator who didn’t cite the old trope, “Necessity is the mother of invention” when discussing their work.

Despite a movement to weaken the U. S.

Have you ever wondered why patent licensing matters? Maybe you’ve heard the words “tech transfer” and weren’t sure exactly what that means. We’ll define both terms below and explain why they are critical to American inventors.

Although you may not have heard much talk about patent legislation in the first half of 2017, plenty has been happening behind the scenes. Citing the U.

When you think about patents today, you probably think of technology or medicine. But, there’s a whole segment of innovation in the United States that isn’t based on processors, microchips or biological breakthroughs.

Across the web you’ll find lots of great articles highlighting Edison, Tesla, Latimer, Jobs, Lamarr and many more. We’re doing something a little different this month by highlighting three innovators you should know that have flown under the radar: one from the past, one from the present, and one that will undoubtedly be a big name in the future.

The Background Having no success so far in pushing through further far-reaching legislation in Congress, proponents of weaker patent rights have been searching for new avenues to achieve their aims. One of the latest efforts, led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is to try to convince the public that universities shouldn’t be allowed to license their patents to other non-practicing entities, businesses that license technology but don’t manufacture themselves.

If you keep up with intellectual property and patent news, you’ve likely seen the words “35 USC 101” or “Section 101. ” Set among a myriad of complex abbreviations, acronyms, and terms, you’d be forgiven for not fully understanding what 35 USC 101 is or why it matters to patent holders and inventors in the United States.

If it weren’t for inventors, life would be much more difficult and certainly a lot less interesting. Whether it’s a cell phone, can opener, or the assembly line your car was built on, we owe inventors a huge debt of gratitude.

Laurie Self knows patents. As an attorney working in intellectual property for almost 30 years, Self has gained a wealth of experience and a deep appreciation for the financial incentives that patents bring to both inventors and the U.