For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here. (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).
Overview
So, you finally put your great idea for an invention down on paper. You may even have built a model or a prototype. Now what happens? Well, you’ll need to protect it. After all, you came up with an original idea — that idea is YOUR intellectual property (IP). How do you make sure someone else doesn’t steal your idea and the potential business investment that may come with it? You file a patent!
Teacher’s note: Students will need to have an invention already sketched out to complete this lesson and be familiar with the invention process. If you are looking to get started in invention education, see the extension portion of this lesson for some ideas.
Objectives
- Students will learn how to communicate effectively about their inventions.
- Students will also learn about the patent process and how to promote and protect their ideas.
- Students will learn how to seek out additional help or resources needed to make their patent dreams a reality.
Subjects
Science, CTE, and humanities classes
Grade Levels
Grades 6-12
Estimated Time
One 50-minute class period
Supplemental Links
- Google doc version of lesson
- Teacher presentation
- Warm-up handout
- Main activity handout
- Closure questions
Introduction
Teacher preparation for the lesson:
- Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs
- Materials to print (optional):
- Warm-up activity printed questions (½ sheet per student)
- Main activity worksheet for students (1 per student)
- Closure activity printed classroom questions (1 classroom set) printed and posted around the classroom
- Familiarize yourself with Google Patents
Essential question: How important is it for inventors to protect their intellectual property through the patent process?
Materials
- Paper and pencil or other note-taking materials
- A sketched or built prototype of an invention (see extension section for prior lessons)
- Student patent handout ( printable or digital ) (1 page per student)
- Student ½ page warm-up questions that are printable (optional)
- Internet connection and device to access online tools
- Four sticky notes for each student to use during the closure
- Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs
Warm-up activity (10 minutes)
1.(5 min) As the video plays, have students write down answers (student ½ sheet can be found here ) to the following questions and take two minutes for students to share their responses with a partner:
- (5 min) Discuss as a class
Main activity (30 minutes)
This activity guides students to learn about the patent process and how to file a patent for their invention. The patent process involves many hours of work with a patent lawyer or months of work on the part of the individual. This is a short introduction to the process with further steps in the extension part of the lesson.
Directions
- (10 min) Get started by presenting this background information to the class.
What is a patent?
A. A patent is a legal protection for inventions. If you hold a patent for your idea, you are in control of who gets to make, use, sell or import your invention. Other people can’t legally use your invention without your permission for 20 years. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), 600,000 patent applications are filed each year, and there are no age restrictions. This four-year-old received a patent!
B. Before you can patent your idea, you need to research what other inventions already exist that are similar to yours and determine how your invention is different. If you are new to the patent search process it can be long and painstaking. It’s fun and helpful to use Google Patents for your search.
C. Provisional patents are a great option for a starting point for many classrooms as they are a much lower cost to file, and you can file without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. Students can say that their invention is patent pending and that their invention will be protected for 12 months. At the end of this time, a nonprovisional patent needs to be filed to continue the benefits of a patent on the invention.
D. The USPTO goes into much greater detail on the process here and has a 1-800 number help number to ask questions about filing a patent: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/general-information-patents.
- (20 min) Conduct patent research comparing their invention (assumes they have an invention from prior work) to current patents that exist using Google Patents. Why is this necessary? Because before you can patent your idea, you need to research what other inventions already exist that are similar to your invention and determine how your invention is different.
A. Students can fill out this worksheet (there is also a digital version for students to fill in here; use what fits your classroom style best) as they work. This can be assigned in class or as a homework assignment.
B. Once students are finished completing the worksheet, they will be ready for the next step of the patent process. Have students find peers whose patent is in a similar field (i.e. medical devices or gaming); you may need to assist them. Ask the newly formed groups of students (2 to 3 per group) to find patents similar to theirs and fill in a provisional patent from the USPTO’s website in training mode (nothing will be saved or submitted).
C. As students are working, select a few exemplars to share with the class to wrap up this activity prior to a debrief. Prep the students for sharing why they chose the inventions listed on their worksheets.
Debrief (10 minutes)
Use four walls in the classroom each with a question below. Show these questions on the main screen or print them and place them on the walls in the classroom. Give students four sticky notes to answer the questions below and place them around the room.
- What one word would you use to describe the patent research process?
- What are three additional keywords you would use if continuing your invention research?
- How was the patent research process surprising to you?
- What is a career within this patent process you learned about today?
Extension activities
- PBS NewsHour Classroom has developed a series of lessons to get your students started working through the invention process. Other lessons in the series include problem identification, seeing yourself as an inventor, what an inventor does, and pitching your invention.
- Invention Education Teacher Ambassadors wrote a lesson on introducing students to reading a patent, If you’d like your class to explore patents before their ideas are put down on paper, you can try out this lesson here . With a student sheet and the folder including 6 different patents to print prior to the lesson.
- Lemelson-MIT has more in-depth teaching on the patent application process - https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/inventor-handbook/chapter-6-how-do-i-apply-patent
- Lemelson-MIT teachings on how to conduct a patent search - https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/inventor-handbook/chapter-4-how-do-i-conduct-patent-search
- Students can begin the process of writing out a concise invention disclosure statement. This will include technical writing pictures and diagrams. Room for collaboration among peers and peer editing as you see fit in your classroom. Dig deeper into the disclosure statement here.
- Here you will find a comprehensive list of invention education resources that support the work you are doing in the classroom.
To learn more about intellectual property, check out the USPTO's EquIPHQ site here:
Standards
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
- Engineering Design High School
HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge
HS-ETS1-2: Design a solution to a complex real-world problem
HS-ETS1-3: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem
- Engineering and Design Middle School
MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem
MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions
MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences
*Note: Depending on what invention the students are working on, other NGSS will apply. You can follow our links for a highlighted PDF of the standards that could be applied for your specific classroom: Middle School NGSS and High School NGSS.
Common Core: English Language Arts
RI.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts
SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations
SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information
SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence
SL.5: Express information and enhance understanding of presentations
L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words
Common Core History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
RH.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
RH.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats
WHST.2: Write informative/explanatory texts
WHST.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects
WHST.8: Gather relevant information and integrate the information
MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
NCSS C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
D4.2.3-5: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
D4.2.6-8: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
D4.2.9-12: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
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