Mike Drummond

Sarah Miller Caldicott is the great grandniece of the legend himself, Thomas Alva Edison. She’s a motivational speaker, head of business consulting firm PowerPatterns and the co-author of Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor. In this interview Caldicott reveals what she’s learned and gained from being related to an icon of innovation.

Congress convened in a rare session last Sunday. On that sleepy news day, the U.S. Senate passed an appropriations bill leaving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office funding for 2010 essentially the same as 2009. President Obama should send this bill back. The USPTO is solely funded through fees. But Congress controls the purse strings. The USPTO has fewer examiners…

I applaud Popular Mechanics for tackling the under-covered issue of patent reform in Inventors Slam Patent Reform Effort. However, I disagree with some of the magazine’s assertions. Regarding first-to-invent vs. first-to-file, PM says: FTI theoretically allows an inventor to sit on an idea for years, gradually improving it until he or she is ready to file. FTF eliminates that strategy,…

Inventors Digest held a youth innovation essay contest, in part to celebrate National Inventors Month, last August. The four winning essays are at InventorsDigest.com. The magazine received and reviewed some 400 essays from across the country. Inventors Digest, in cooperation with IPWatchdog, is showcasing several essays deserving of honorable mention. This is the second Honorable Mention Essay. The first was…

Inventors Digest, in cooperation with IPWatchdog, is showcasing several essays deserving of honorable mention.  The first in this series appears below. Inventors Digest held a youth innovation essay contest, in part to celebrate National Inventors Month, last August. The four winning essays are at InventorsDigest.com.  The magazine received and reviewed some 400 essays from across the country. The following illustrate…