Innovatia

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS …. THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT INNOVATION

were sparked by someone whose primary ex- pertise was outside the field in which the inno- vative breakthrough took place. AND A DRUM ROLL PLEASE: In April 2008, a pat- ent was granted to the youngest person, ever. A British lad named Samuel Thomas Houghton was just five years old when he was issued a pat- ent for a “Sweeping Device with Two Head” in- vention. Two years earlier, he had watched his fa- ther sweep the yard using two different brooms, one to gather up the leaves and twigs, the oth- er to sweep the finer debris. So, the youngster

strapped them together with a rubber band. His father was so impressed he filed a pat- ent application, naming Sam as the sole in- ventor. A spokesperson for the UK Intellectu- al Property Office said they had “never come across anyone as young as Sam who has been successful in their application and be- lieve he is the youngest yet”. Patents can last up to 20 years, so Sam will have until 2028 to develop and market his product. But his fa- ther said that it had been about letting Sam have some fun and teaching him in the pro- cess about innovation.

Charles Darwin said: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most in- telligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” Richie Etwaru is the Chairman and Chief Cre- ative Officer at Mobeus. Some years back he compiled a list of little known and surprising things about innovation, among them were: LOSING YOUR EARS: In the 1600s, the punish- ment for being an “innovator” was getting your ears chopped off. You were seen as a trouble- maker. FIRST PATENT EVER: On 31 July 1790, Samuel Hopkins was issued the first patent for a pro- cess of making potash, an ingredient used in fertiliser. WORST INNOVATIONS: TIME’s 50 worst inno- vations listed in 2010 included Hair in a Can, Parachute Jacket, Venetian Blind Sunglasses and the Segway.

WORD OVERUSED: In 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported companies mentioned some form of the word “innovation” 33,528 times in annual reports, a 64 per cent increase from five years before that. PATENT WARS: In 2012, both Google and Apple spent more on patent litigation than on R&D – $20 billion in the smartphone industry alone in two years. CHINA ON THE MOVE: In 2013, China’s State In- tellectual Property Office (SIPO) granted more patents than any other patent office in the world, including the U.S. Patent and Trade- mark Office. LIPITOR WINS: The cholesterol-lowering drug, used to help reduce heart attack and stroke risk, represents the most valued patent in history. LEFT/RIGHT OF FIELD: A study of the top 50 game-changing innovations over a 100-year period showed that nearly 80 per cent of them

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INNOVATIA

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