Background Information for Teachers
Anyone who works with elementary age students recognizes their keen imaginations. Like elementary-age children, inventors, regardless of where or when they live or lived, have wonderful imaginations that they use to creatively solve problems. Inventions may be either completely new devices, the likes of which have never been imagined, or, they may be improvements on existing technology. In either case, inventors are able to envision better possibilities for the world around them.
Elementary students are able to connect with this lesson precisely because they, as children, have active imaginations and are accustomed to asking "Why?" or "Why not?" questions about the world, just as inventors do.
American history is filled with stories of creative inventors who actively thought about how to make the world a better place through their unique devices or processes. One of the earliest and most famous American inventors is Benjamin Franklin. As a scientist who was curious about how the world worked, Franklin applied his scientific learning to devices that improved the quality of life. For instance, after Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment, he invented the lightning rod, which has saved countless homes from damage or destruction from lightning strikes.
For information on the inventors featured in this lesson, read the following Historical Markers:
Daniel Drawbaugh, Ferris Wheel Inventor, Harold F. Pitcairn, Christopher Sholes , and Lightning Guider Sleds.
Inventors are capable of making a nation prosperous with their inventions and innovations. Their ideas, however, need legal protection. The "Founding Fathers" recognized this fact, and they made provisions in the Constitution that gave Congress the power to grant patents. Starting in 1790, the Patent Board issued patents. Before this time, inventors needed to approach each state individually to receive patents. The new Federal Patent Board simplified and streamlined this process for inventors.
Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a part of the Department of Commerce. Over 350,000 patent applications are received by the USPTO each year. That's nearly 1,000 new patent applications per day! Of course, not all of the applicants are granted a patent; researchers at the USPTO investigate filed patents to determine if each new application represents a significantly new idea. The process of obtaining a patent takes months or years and can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, the legal protection a patent affords can be worth many times that dollar amount, depending on the situation.
Patents provide rights for up to 20 years for inventions in three broad categories:
1. Utility patents protect useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. Some examples: fiber optics, computer hardware, and medications.
2. Design patents guard the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. The look of an athletic shoe, a bicycle helmet, and the Star Wars characters are all protected by design patents.
3. Plant patents are the way we protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties. Hybrid tea roses, Silver Queen corn, and Better Boy tomatoes are all types of plant patents.
Note: In these lessons the students will be exploring utility patents.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office website is very informative. There is even a Kids" section with content and activities geared for children. The USPTO website is www.uspto.gov.
Elementary students are able to connect with this lesson precisely because they, as children, have active imaginations and are accustomed to asking "Why?" or "Why not?" questions about the world, just as inventors do.
American history is filled with stories of creative inventors who actively thought about how to make the world a better place through their unique devices or processes. One of the earliest and most famous American inventors is Benjamin Franklin. As a scientist who was curious about how the world worked, Franklin applied his scientific learning to devices that improved the quality of life. For instance, after Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment, he invented the lightning rod, which has saved countless homes from damage or destruction from lightning strikes.
For information on the inventors featured in this lesson, read the following Historical Markers:
Daniel Drawbaugh, Ferris Wheel Inventor, Harold F. Pitcairn, Christopher Sholes , and Lightning Guider Sleds.Inventors are capable of making a nation prosperous with their inventions and innovations. Their ideas, however, need legal protection. The "Founding Fathers" recognized this fact, and they made provisions in the Constitution that gave Congress the power to grant patents. Starting in 1790, the Patent Board issued patents. Before this time, inventors needed to approach each state individually to receive patents. The new Federal Patent Board simplified and streamlined this process for inventors.
Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a part of the Department of Commerce. Over 350,000 patent applications are received by the USPTO each year. That's nearly 1,000 new patent applications per day! Of course, not all of the applicants are granted a patent; researchers at the USPTO investigate filed patents to determine if each new application represents a significantly new idea. The process of obtaining a patent takes months or years and can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, the legal protection a patent affords can be worth many times that dollar amount, depending on the situation.
Patents provide rights for up to 20 years for inventions in three broad categories:
1. Utility patents protect useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. Some examples: fiber optics, computer hardware, and medications.
2. Design patents guard the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. The look of an athletic shoe, a bicycle helmet, and the Star Wars characters are all protected by design patents.
3. Plant patents are the way we protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties. Hybrid tea roses, Silver Queen corn, and Better Boy tomatoes are all types of plant patents.
Note: In these lessons the students will be exploring utility patents.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office website is very informative. There is even a Kids" section with content and activities geared for children. The USPTO website is www.uspto.gov.
