“My biggest passion has always been to make something really meaningful,” says Marc van Zyl. Born in South Africa to a family who is passionate about engineering, van Zyl is currently a high school senior living in Atlanta, Georgia.
For van Zyl, much of the meaning he has created in life has revolved around progress – a drive to learn, innovate and improve. Van Zyl’s passion for progress can be found in many areas of his life, from his hobby as a voracious reader, to his practice as a second-degree black belt in karate, to his experience as a student inventor and, soon, his upcoming adventure as an engineering student at Georgia Tech.
Through his journey to create something meaningful, van Zyl has become increasingly interested in intellectual property, a field that he believes inspires progress.
“When someone can own something ... they nurture it. To me, intellectual property ownership is very much the same.” — Marc van Zyl, 12th grade student
Van Zyl recently invented Athegia, a platform for senior citizens to easily collect all their health data and maintain motivation to routinely utilize their medical testing devices. Athegia is currently patent pending.
Van Zyl found the patent process incredibly enlightening. The process pushed him to really look at what makes his invention unique from other similar products. “While working on the patent application, the patent attorneys who assisted me and I had to really distill down the core values that made my invention truly unique.”
While the patent application process was lengthy and incredibly detailed, van Zyl credits the patent attorneys he worked with for helping him be able to successfully traverse the unfamiliar territory. While the patent attorneys handled the legal details, van Zyl was able to get to know his invention on a deeper level and learn how to communicate the importance of his invention.
Van Zyl pointed out that the patent application process will also be incredibly helpful when he is ready to take the next steps with Athegia. “Even though I had to go through this process for the patent application, for me, as an inventor, and potentially a businessman, now that I have the information on what makes my invention unique, I get to think about how I can leverage that,” he explains. “It was quite an insight to be able to look at my project with a completely new lens.”
Photo courtesy: Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation
Through his patent application experience, van Zyl has come to realize the importance of intellectual property. He compares IP ownership to physical property ownership, a valued experience that people are more familiar with.
“Historically, when physical property is owned by tons of people or no one in particular, that property tends to be left to crumble – no one feels compelled to improve it,” explains van Zyl, “When someone can own something and that thing matters to that particular person, they nurture it. To me, intellectual property ownership is very much the same.”
His newfound interest in intellectual property mirrors his passion for progress. “Intellectual property incentivises people to not just come up with ideas, but to nurture, create value and bring those ideas to fruition because that idea is truly their own,” van Zyl says.
Van Zyl looks forward to finding out whether his patent for Athegia will be approved so he can share the resource he has created while protecting his ideas and intellectual property. From his experience, van Zyl has learned two prompts that every IP creator should ask along the way:
Can you prove that your idea is unique?
“You have to start with a problem that really exists so that the idea you eventually patent will have true value to other people.” -- Marc van Zyl
“You can’t start with an idea and just decide to patent it. You have to start with a problem that really exists so that the idea you eventually patent will have true value to other people,” explains van Zyl. “Once you’re further along in the process, don’t forget to do the research. To both respect someone else’s ideas and to advance your own, there’s going to be a lot of research to do to make sure your idea is unique.”
Van Zyl’s mission for progress is far from complete and he looks forward to his intellectual property ownership and future studies that will support him in his journey. While he continues to work on Athegia and other contributions to the health technology field, he champions other students to also explore invention and intellectual property education. As van Zyl simply says, “Innovation is the future.”
Discussion questions
- Marc van Zyl says, "My biggest passion has always been to make something really meaningful." What is an issue that is meaningful to you or your community?
- What is an invention that you use every day? How would you improve it?
To read the full-length piece produced by our partners at the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, click here .
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