Patent

This month in San Jose, Calif., the two biggest smartphone companies in the world, Apple and Samsung Electronics, entered into a head-to-head intellectual property rights lawsuit. KWHS examines corporate litigation and costly patent wars.

In a KWHS article on innovation, Jamie Lee Solimano, a finalist in the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search for high school students, defined innovation like this: “To shift society or have an impact, you have to introduce something novel.” While invention is indeed one aspect of innovation, it is also so much more. In this first part of a four-part audio podcast for educators on innovation and the art of problem-solving, Saikat Chaudhuri, executive director of the Mack Institute of Innovation Management at the Wharton School; and Rob Shelton, global innovation strategy lead at PwC, discuss innovation basics and how it is related to critical thinking and problem-solving.

In the world of intellectual property, people and businesses have the right to protect what they create. A newly published report says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 300,678 new patents in 2014, an 8% rise over the previous year. Meanwhile, a patent-infringement case just launched by Jawbone against Fitbit promises to escalate. Yes, our ideas have value -- but how far should we go to defend them?

In honor of National Entrepreneurship Week, from February 18 to February 25, KWHS profiles Maddie Bradshaw, creator of the trendy Snap Cap bottle cap necklace and founder of M3 Girl Designs, LLC, whose total sales clock in at more than $5 million. Bradshaw talks about starting her business, her recent appearance on the TV show “Shark Tank” and why she feels her product won’t be a one-hit wonder.