Month: June 2020

Traditional Thinking

Traditional thinking refers to the thinking that has traditionally permeated the mindsets, models, decisions, and analyses of Western management. Its basis is in analysis and analytical thinking.

If we added to traditional thinking the abstract idea of change our world becomes tremendously complex. The way we manage the complexity is that we create; we create by introducing generalizations plus other abstractions.

Philosopher, tycoon, philanthropist, author, and international political activist George Soros says in his book “The Age of Fallibility” that “Once it comes to generalizations, the more general they are, the more they simplify matters. This world is best conceived as a general equation in which the present is represented by one set of constants. Change the constants and the same equation will apply to all past and future situations…I shall call this the critical mode of thinking.”

Soros identifies the traditional mode of thinking with an ‘organic society’. He further identifies the critical mode of thinking with the ‘open society’. Each society must find a means to deal with factors that do not conform to the will of the members of that society. In a traditional society, even though it focuses primarily on phenomena that are generally static, nature can be obdurate.

In the traditional mode of thinking the central tenet is that things are as they have always been and the future will be likewise thus they cannot be any other way. The status quo is fate and all we need do is learn that fate and to organize our lives in accordance. In such a world logic and argumentation has no place because there exists no alternatives.

When we examine the nature of epistemology what can we know and how can we know it in such a mode of thinking we quickly illuminate the advantages and drawbacks. In such a society there is no bifurcation between thought and concrete reality. There exists only the objective relationship between knower and known. The validity of traditional truth is unquestioned; there can be no distinction between ideas and reality.

Where a thing exists we give it a name. Without a name a thing does not exist. Only where abstraction exists do we give non-objects a name. In our modern reality we label many non-concrete things and thus arises the separation of reality and thoughts. The way things appear is the way things are; the traditional mode of thinking can penetrate no deeper.

The traditional mode of thinking does not explain the world by cause and effect but everything performs in accordance with its nature. Because there is no distinction between the natural and supernatural and between reality and thought there arise no contradictions. The spirit of the tree is as real as the branch of the tree; past, present, and future melt into one time. Thinking fails to distinguish between thought and reality, truth and falsehood, social and naturals laws. Such is the world of traditional thought and the world of mythological thought.

The traditional mode is very flexible as long as no alternatives are voiced, any new thing quickly becomes the traditional and as long as such a situation meets the needs of the people such a situation will continue to prevail.

To comprehend the traditional mode we must hold in abeyance our ingrained habits of thought, especially our abstract concept of the individual. In a changeless society all is the Whole, the individual does not exist.

The individual is an abstraction that does not exist whereas the Whole, which is in reality an abstraction, exists as a concrete concept for traditional thought. The unity expressed by the Whole is the unity much like an organism. The individuals in this society are like the organs of a creature; they cannot last if separated from the Whole. Society determines which function the individual plays in the society.

The term “organic society” is used often to label this form of culture. When all is peaceful with no significant voices placing forth an alternative then this organic society exists in peace. In this organic society a human slave is no different from any other chattel. In a feudal society the land is more important than the landlord who derives his privileges from the fact that he holds the land.

For 3000 years Egypt was an example such a society. This Egyptian society remained essentially unchanged until 50BC when Western society was led into a different mode of thinking by the Greeks and by Roman conquest.

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is the ability to look at things differently, and find new ways of solving problems. Creative thinking skills are definitely not just for ‘creative types’ like artists and musicians. Everyone can benefit from creative thinking from time to time.

Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking.

Creative thinking, therefore, is the ability to think differently: to see a problem or issue from a new angle or perspective. This often allows you find a new solution, or even to see that the problem does not necessarily need a solution.

The need for creative thinking arises because our brains naturally tend to fall into certain ‘short cuts’. Once we have a piece of information, we tend to use it again: that’s how we learn. This has huge advantages for example, it means that we don’t have to learn how to use a knife and fork every time we eat but it also has some disadvantages, in that we tend to stop thinking about things that we do, see or say regularly.

Formal Creative Thinking

Of course it is possible to think creatively all the time. There are some people who simply fizz with new ideas and seem to see everything slightly differently from those around them.

These are the people who are always asking ‘Why?’, and ‘Why not?’.

They are natural problem-solvers and innovators.

However, for most people, creative thinking requires more effort. They prefer to save their creative thinking for when it is really necessary.

Typical examples of times when you might take the time to use creative thinking techniques include:

• When you are facing a major problem or issue, and you cannot see an obvious way forward.
• At times of change, when it is hard to see what might lie ahead, and you want to think about possible scenarios.
• When there is a lot of disagreement about what needs to happen next, and no compromise seems possible without a lot of effort.
• When you need something new, that hasn’t been tried before, but you are not sure what.

On occasions like this, it may be worth doing some ‘formal’ creative thinking, and using a trained facilitator to help the group get the most out of the session.

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different writers give the word “intuition” a great variety of different meanings, ranging from direct access to unconscious knowledge, unconscious cognition, inner sensing, inner insight to unconscious pattern-recognition and the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.

The word intuition comes from the Latin verb intueri translated as “consider” or from the late middle English word intuit, “to contemplate“.

Intuition is a form of knowledge that appears in consciousness without obvious deliberation. It is not magical but rather a faculty in which hunches are generated by the unconscious mind rapidly sifting through past experience and cumulative knowledge.

Often referred to as “gut feelings,” intuition tends to arise holistically and quickly, without awareness of the underlying mental processing of information. Scientists have repeatedly demonstrated how information can register on the brain without conscious awareness and positively influence decision-making and other behavior.

Where Intuition Comes From?

Psychologists believe that intuition relies on powers of pattern-matching, as the mind combs experience stored in long-term memory for similar situations and presents in-the-moment judgments based on them. The automatic information processing that underlies intuition can be seen in the everyday phenomenon known as “highway hypnosis,” which occurs when a driver travels for miles without a conscious thought about the activity of driving the car.

Is intuition the same as gut feelings?

Intuition is often referred to as “gut feelings,” as they seem to arise fully formed from some deep part of us. In fact, they are the product of brain processing that automatically compares swiftly perceived elements of current experience with past experience and knowledge, and they are delivered to awareness with considerable emotional certainty.

How do gut feelings relate to first impressions?

Intuition, like first impressions, serves the brain’s need to predict and prepare for what will happen next. First impressions are rapid, holistic assessments of people based on subtle perceptual cues and judgment of intent to help or harm. Both rely on automatic processes and, as rapid evaluation systems, both are subject to error, especially from biases we hold.

Here are 10 things that people in touch with their intuition do differently.

1. They listen to that inner voice

The No. 1 thing that distinguishes intuitive people is that they listen to, rather than ignore, the guidance of their intuitions and gut feelings.

“Everybody is connected to their intuition, but some people don’t pay attention to it as intuition,” Burnham say. “I have yet to meet a successful businessman that didn’t say, ‘I don’t know why I did that, it was just a hunch.'”

In order to make our best decisions, we need a balance of intuition which serves to bridge the gap between instinct and reasoning and rational thinking, according to Francis Cholle, author of The Intuitive Compass. But the cultural bias against following one’s instinct or intuition often leads to disregarding our hunches — to our own detriment.

2. They take time for solitude

If you want to get in touch with your intuition, a little time alone may be the most effective way. Just as solitude can help give rise to creative thinking, it can also help us connect to our deepest inner wisdom.

Intuitive people are often introverted, according to Burnham. But whether you’re an introvert or not, taking time for solitude can help you engage in deeper thought and reconnect with yourself.

3. They create

“Creativity does its best work when it functions intuitively,”.

In fact, creative people are highly intuitive, explains Burnham, and just as you can increase your creativity through practice, you can boost your intuition. In fact, practicing one may build up the other.

4. They practice mindfulness

Meditation and other mindfulness practices can be an excellent way to tap into your intuition. As the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute explains, “Mindfulness can help you filter out mental chatter, weigh your options objectively, tune into your intuition and ultimately make a decision that you can stand behind completely.”

Mindfulness can also connect you to your intuition by boosting self-knowledge. A 2013 study published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science showed that mindfulness defined as “paying attention to one’s current experience in a non-judgmental way” may help us to better understand our own personalities. And as Arianna Huffington notes in Thrive, increased intuition, compassion, creativity and peace are all wonderful side effects of meditating.

5. They observe everything

“The first thing to do is notice keep a little journal, and notice when odd things happen,” Burnham says. You’ll gain a keen sense for how often coincidences, surprising connections and on-the-dot intuitions occur in your daily life in other words, you’ll start to tap into your intuition.

6. They listen to their bodies

Intuitive people learn to tune into their bodies and heed their “gut feelings.”

If you’ve ever started feeling sick to your stomach when you knew something was wrong but couldn’t put your finger on what, you understand that intuitions can cause a physical sensation in the body. Our gut feelings are called gut feelings for a reason research suggests that emotion and intuition are very much rooted in the “second brain” in the gut.

7. They connect deeply with others

Mind reading may seem like the stuff of fantasy and pseudo-science, but it’s actually something we do everyday. It’s called empathic accuracy, a term in psychology that refers to the “seemingly magical ability to map someone’s mental terrain from their words, emotions and body language,” according to Psychology Today.

“When you see a spider crawling up someone’s leg, you feel a creepy sensation,” Marcia Reynolds writes in Psychology Today. “Similarly, when you observe someone reach out to a friend and they are pushed away, your brain registers the sensation of rejection. When you watch your team win or a couple embrace on television, you feel their emotions as if you are there. Social emotions like guilt, shame, pride, embarrassment, disgust and lust can all be experienced by watching others.”

8. They pay attention to their dreams

Burnham recommends paying attention to your dreams as a way to get in touch with your mind’s unconscious thinking processes. Both dreams and intuition spring from the unconscious, so you can begin to tap into this part of your mind by paying attention to your dreams.

“At night, when you’re dreaming, you’re receiving information from the unconscious or intuitive part of your brain,”. “If you’re attuned to your dreams, you can get a lot of information about how to live your life.”

9. They enjoy plenty of down time

Few things stifle intuition as easily as constant busyness, multitasking, connectivity to digital devices and stress and burnout. According to Huffington, we always have an intuitive sense about the people in our lives on a deep level, we know the good ones from the “flatterers and dissemblers” but we’re not always awake enough to our intuition to acknowledge the difference to ourselves. The problem is that we’re simply too busy.

10. They mindfully let go of negative emotions

Strong emotions particularly negative ones can cloud our intuition. Many of us know that we feel out of sorts or “not ourselves” when we’re upset, and it may be because we’re disconnected from our intuition.

“When you are very depressed, you may find your intuition fails,”. “When you’re angry or in a heightened emotional state … your intuition fail you completely.”

Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing.

“Creativity is a combinatorial force: it’s our ability to tap into our ‘inner’ pool of resources knowledge, insight, information, inspiration and all the fragments populating our minds that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world and to combine them in extraordinary new ways.” :Maria Popova, Brainpickings

“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.” :Rollo May, The Courage to Create

Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary work, or a painting).

Scholarly interest in creativity is found in a number of disciplines, primarily psychology, business studies, and cognitive science, but also education, technology, engineering, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), theology, sociology, linguistics, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, personality type, mental and neural processes, mental health, or artificial intelligence; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training; the fostering of creativity for national economic benefit, and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.

Types of Creativity

1. Deliberate and Cognitive creativity

People who possess deliberate and cognitive characteristics are purposeful. They have a great amount of knowledge about a particular subject and combine their skills and capabilities to prepare a course of action to achieve something. This type of creativity built when people work for a very long time in a particular area.

People who fall under this type of category of creativity are usually proficient at research, problem- solving, investigation and experimentation. This type of creativity is located in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is at the front part of the brain. These types of creative people spend a great deal of time every single day testing to develop new solutions.

Thomas Alva Edison is one prominent example of this type of creative people. He ran experiment after experiment before inventing electricity, the light bulb, and telecommunication. Hence, deliberate and cognitive creativity requires a great deal of time, dedication and abundance of knowledge about a particular subject.

2. Deliberate and Emotional Creativity

People who are categorized as deliberate and emotional let their work influenced by their state of emotions. These types of creative people are very emotional and sensitive in nature. These individuals prefer relatively quiet and personal time to reflect and they usually have a habit of diary writing. However, they are equally logical and rational in decision making.

Their creativity is always a balanced product of deliberate emotional thinking and logical actions. This type of creativity is found in the amygdala and cingulate cortex parts of the human brain. Amygdala is responsible for human emotions whereas cingulate cortex helps in learning and information processing. This type of creativity happens to people at random moments. Those moments are usually referred to as “a-ha!” moments when someone suddenly thinks of a solution to some problem or think of some innovative idea.

For example, there are situations when you feel low and emotional which distracts you from your work. In those kinds of situations, you should take 5 minutes and point out the things which are making you sad and keep them aside and focus on the work in hand. It will help you to get improvised results and you will get work done easily. One should seek “quiet time” for deliberate and emotional creativity to happen to them.

3. Spontaneous and Cognitive creativity

There are times when you spend a long time to crack a problem but can’t think of any solution. For example, when you want to make a schedule for a month to get a job done, but you can’t seem to think of any possible way and when you are watching television and having your relaxed time and suddenly you think of a solution and everything falls in place. The same case happened with the great scientist Isaac Newton. He got the idea about the law of gravity when an apple hit his head while he was sitting under a tree and relaxing.

This is the “Eureka!” moments for Newton and an excellent example of a spontaneous and cognitive person. This type of creativity happens when one has the knowledge to get a particular job done, but he requires inspiration and a hint to walk towards the right path. This type of creativity usually happens at the most inconvenient time, such as, when you are in bed with your partner or having a shower. Spontaneous and cognitive creativity takes place when the conscious mind stops working and go to relax and unconscious mind gets a chance to work.

Mostly, this type of creative person stops conscious thinking when they need to do “out of the box” thinking. By indulging in different and unrelated activities, the unconscious mind gets a chance to connect information in new ways which provide solutions to the problems. Therefore, to let this type of creativity happen one should take a break from the problem and get away to let conscious mind overtake.

4. Spontaneous and Emotional Creativity

Spontaneous and emotional creativity takes place in the “amygdala” part of the human brain. Amygdala is responsible for all emotional type of thinking in the human brain. Spontaneous ideas and creativity happen when conscious and Prefrontal brain is resting. This type of creativity is mostly found in a great artist such as musicians, painters, and writers etc. This type of creativity is also related to “epiphanies”.

Epiphany is a sudden realization of something. Spontaneous and emotional creativity is responsible for a scientific breakthrough, religious and also philosophical discoveries. This allows the enlightened person to look at a problem or situation with a different and deeper viewpoint.

Those moments are defined as rare moments when great discoveries take place. There is no need to have specific knowledge for “spontaneous and emotional” creativity to happen but there should be a skill such as writing, musical or artistic. This type of creativity can’t be obtained by working on it.

1. Brainstorming: Probably one of the most popular creative methods

This is the most obvious creative techniques and endless whiteboard is just perfect for it. The basis of brainstorming is a generating ideas in a group situation based on the principle of suspending judgment a principle which scientific research has proved to be highly productive in individual effort as well as group effort.

State the problem you are trying to solve. Use post-its, images and videos anything that can help you generate ideas. Write down every idea even if it is odd, encourage people to build on the ideas of others

2. Negative Brainstorming

This is another example of creative techniques. It uses brainstorming to generate bad solutions to the problem and then see how those could be transformed into good solutions. The method is a two-step process, that consists of generating the worst ideas first and then transforming them into good solutions.

3. The Insights Game

Have you experienced one of those moments when you suddenly realize how the world works and the dots are connected? The Insights Game is about these moments. Every insight gives you one point. You need to have at least one point every day, if not the game is over.

Actually, it is a personal method, but you can do it with your friends or team on different boards simultaneously supporting each other.

The goal and the reward of this game is that you will improve your ability to see the big picture, process more complex problems and challenge your beliefs.

Use images, videos, post-its and whatever you want to put your insights on the board. Back to the board every day and look at the big picture. Try these for 21 days minimum, and feel this magical moment! Use the Monthly planner template to start or put everything on a blank sheet.

4. Mood boards

Mood board is a type of collage that may consist of images, text, videos and samples of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator.

Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to communicate to other members of the design team. They are used by artists and are based on a particular theme of their choice too. Here you can find some more useful information about mood boards.

You can use a blank template, add pictures and videos using Insert button, and screenshots using Chrome Extension.

5. Random Words (Random Input)

Random Words creative technique encourages your imagination to create different perspectives and new angles on your idea or the problem you are facing. It is by far the simplest of all creative techniques and is widely used by people who need to create new ideas (for example, for new products).

6. Storyboarding

Storyboards go back to the very beginnings of cinema and animation. As it is known, Walt Disney and his staff developed a Story Board system in 1928. Disney wanted to achieve full animation and for this, he needed to produce an enormous number of drawings. Managing the thousands of drawings and the progress of a project was nearly impossible, so Disney had his artists pin up their drawings on the studio walls. This way, progress could be checked, and scenes added and discarded with ease.

Now Storyboarding is a popular creative technique and is widely spread in business. Storyboards are used today by industry for planning advertising campaigns, commercials, a proposal or other business presentations intended to convince or compel to action.

To implement a Storyboard solution you can use a blank template in Miro. The initial storyboard may be as simple as slide titles on Post-It notes, which are then replaced with draft presentation slides as they are created.

Another way to create Storyboard in Miro is to use Visual story map template which was originally taken from the awesome book ‘Stories that move mountains’.

7. Metaphorical thinking

A metaphor is a thinking method which connects two universes of meaning.

Examples: Food chain or flow of time. Metaphorical thinking is based on Similarity. Our mind tends to look for similarities. A road map is a model or metaphor of reality and useful for explaining things.

Imaging within another conceptual frame can help, eg. the visual images of spring which inspired Vivaldi’s “Prima Vera”, the dream that led to Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” the art exhibition which Mussorsgy illustrated in “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and so on.

Put everything that you may need on the board words, images, videos, icons, etc. to help you create something new and exciting. 

8. Mind mapping

Mind Maps has been developed by Tony Buzan are an effective technique of structuring information and note-taking. They are also useful during the brainstorming sessions. To make a mind map, start in the center of the board with the main idea, invite your team and work in all directions, producing a growing and organized structure using key words/phrases and key images/videos.

Use colorful links, post-its, shapes, icons, images and videos anything that can help you build a visual map.

Get inspired with our example and start with the template in Miro.

9. Brain shifter

Brain shifter is one of creative techniques that is similar to mind mapping, but you should act as if you were someone else. The purpose is to create new ideas that you never thought about before.

Get in to character by changing your mindset and try to think like another person. e.g imagine that you are a doctor, a lawyer, a kid or why not a Batman? Start to write your ideas on post-its thinking as your ‘superhero’. If you use the method in group, you can give the roles to each other before the session.

When planning an innovation, it’s important to ensure that your idea adds value for your customers in some way.

Think of ideas that enhance your responsiveness to customer demands, improve your turnaround time, meet new environmental standards or broaden your reach to new markets. Not every idea will be original, but make sure your company and your clients see direct benefits from the investment in innovation.

Once you have an idea, it’s time to determine whether your concept or innovation will actually work and deliver what it promises.

If market research points to a definite need for your product or service, the next step is to test your innovation before it goes into full production or is fully launched.

Build a prototype

A commonly used strategy, particularly in product development, is to build a prototype, which is basically a way to test your product with a working model.

It may not be the final product, but you should strive to make it the next best thing. Seek the expertise of designers and engineers to help you build your prototype. Analyze your prototype thoroughly to see if there are any improvements you might make to it.

Once you’ve solved any problems with your product, you can move to full design.

Test process innovations

If you are testing a process for example, an innovative way to deal with customer complaints you would want to ensure it works with a targeted group of customers before rolling it out to your entire customer base.

This gives you the opportunity to gather data on the effectiveness of your improvements based on customer feedback.

Testing can save you time and resources. It’s a wise way to manage your innovation investments and be sure that you’re moving in the right direction.

Protect your ideas

A good idea can be the core of a new business or provide added edge to an existing one. That makes it highly valuable in today’s competitive business environment. After all, your intangible assets such as intellectual property are often what make your business unique.

Obtaining trademark protection may help you bolster your brand value and goodwill with customers and investors. Patent and industrial design protection can help you maintain market exclusivity and build a barrier to entry against your competitors.

A lot of entrepreneurs may worry about safeguarding their innovations. Before investing time and money in obtaining IP protection, do some simple market research and competitive analysis to get an idea of what products and services are currently on the market. A visit to the appropriate industry-specific trade shows is another good way to see what’s out there.

Success breeds imitation

One excellent way to protect a business idea or innovation is to implement it successfully and profitably; success creates its own barrier to entry against competition. Still, success also breeds imitation, and once you have an edge, assume somebody will try to beat you by improving upon your product or service. Stay ahead of the game by considering ongoing improvements as one of your challenges, and by protecting your intellectual property.

The word “Patent” refers to a monopoly right over an invention. Not all inventions are patentable nor it is essential to protect inventions solely through patent. The final product that results from an invention may be protected through other forms of intellectual property rights. The statutory definition of Patent under the Patent Act as a Patent for any invention granted under the Act.

The object of grant of Patent is to encourage research and development and innovation. The Supreme Court in the case of Bishwanath Prasad Radhey Shyam v. Hindustan Metal Industries, enumerated the object of Patent Law as under:

The subject of Patent Law is to encourage scientific research, new technology and industrial progress. Grant of exclusive privilege to own, use or sell the method or the product patented for limited period, stimulates new inventions of commercial utility. The price of the grant of monopoly is the disclosure of the invention at the Patent Office, which after the expiry of the fixed period of the monopoly passes into the public domain.

Rights in a Patent

Patent registrations confers on the rightful owner a right capable of protection under the Act i.e. the right to exclude others from using the invention for a limited period of time. The monopoly over patented right can be exercised by the owner for a period of 20 years after which it is open to exploitation by others.

Patent confers the right to manufacture, use, offer for sale, sell or import the invention for the prescribed period.

Time Period for which Patent is granted

Initially, the Act provided for a shorter term pf protection for medicine or drug substances. However, vide the Amendment Act of 2005 uniform period of 20 years was provided for all the Patents. Thus, once the prescribed period of 20 years is over, then any person can exploit the patented invention. Here it would be relevant to mention that similar to a trademark even the term of a patent begins from the date of application of patent.

Requirements for Grant of Patent

1. The application for Patent shall be made at the Indian Patent Office.
2. Any person i.e. Indian or a Foreigner, individual, company or the Government can file a Patent Application.
3. The person applying for Patent shall be the true and first inventor of the invention proposed to be patented.
4. The patent application can also be made jointly.
5. The patent application shall primarily disclose the best method of performing the invention known to the applicant for which he is entitled to claim protection.
6. The applicant shall also define the scope of invention.
7. The invention desired to be patented shall be- new, should involve an inventive step and must be capable of industrial application.
8. A patent application can be made for a single invention only.
9. An international application made under the PCT (Patent Co-operation Treaty) designating India shall be deemed as an application made under the Patents Act with the priority date accruing from the date of the international filing date accorded under the PCT.

Invention under the Patent Act

The Act under Section 2(1)(j) defines “invention” as a new product or process involving an inventive step capable of industrial application.

The term “industrial application” refers to capable of industrial application in relation to an invention means that the invention is capable of being made or used in an industry. One of the pre-requisite of invention is that it should be new i.e. the invention proposed to be patented has not been in the public domain or that it does not form part of the state of the art.

Under the Patent Act, both processes and products are entitled to qualify as inventions if they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.

Requirements to Qualify as Invention

(i) The Invention must be new.

(ii) Invention must involve an inventive step.

(iii) The invention must be capable of industrial application or utility.

(iv) The invention shouldn’t come under the inventions which are not patentable under Section 3 and 4 of the Patent Act, 1970.

Non-patentable inventions are enumerated under Section 3 and 4 of the Patent Act. Such inventions are delineated below:

• Any Invention which is frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to well established natural laws is not patentable.
• Inventions which are contrary to public order or morality is not patentable.
• An idea or discovery cannot be a subject matter of a patent application.
• Inventions pertaining to known substances and known processes are not patentable i.e. mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not enhance the known efficacy of that substance is not patentable.
• An invention obtained through a mere admixture or arrangement is not patentable.
• A method of agriculture or horticulture cannot be subject matter of patent.
• A process involving medical treatment of human and animals or to increase their economic value cannot be subject matter of a patent.
• Plants and animals in whole or in part are not patentable.
• A mathematical or business method or a computer program per se or algorithms is excluded from patent protection.
• Matters that are subject matter of copyright protection like literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is not patentable.
• Any scheme or rule.
• Presentation of information
• Topography of integrated circuits.
• Traditional knowledge.
• Inventions relating to atomic energy.

Infringement of Patent

Infringement of Patent primarily refers to intrusion or violation of the rights of a Patentee against which the Patentee has statutory rights under the Act.

The factors that are essential in determining infringement of a Patent are as under:

1. While determining infringement it has to be assessed whether the infringing activity fell within the scope of the invention. Thus, the infringement has to be determined with regard to what has been claimed as invention under the Patent Act by applying the principles or standards of construction.
2. To determine whether the infringing activity violated any statutory rights conferred to the Patentee under the Act. In this respect reference can be made to Section 48 of the Act which enumerates the rights of the Patentee with respect to a product patent and process patent.
3. To determine the infringer i.e. the person liable for the infringement.
4. To determine whether the infringing act fell within the acts which do not amount to infringement under the Patents Act i.e. excluded acts of Government use, use of patented product or process for experiment or research, import of medicine or drug by Government and patents in foreign vessels and aircrafts.

Industrial design is a process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through techniques of mass production. A key characteristic is that design precedes manufacture: the creative act of determining and defining a product’s form and features takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product, which consists purely of repeated, often automated, replication. This distinguishes industrial design from craft-based design, where the form of the product is determined by the product’s creator largely concurrent with the act of its creation.

All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take many forms. It can be conducted by an individual or a team, and such a team could include people with varied expertise (e.g. industrial designers, engineers, business experts, etc.). It can emphasize intuitive creativity or calculated scientific decision-making, and often emphasizes both. It can be influenced by factors as varied as materials, production processes, business strategy, and prevailing social, commercial, or aesthetic attitudes. Industrial design, as an applied art, most often focuses on a combination of aesthetics and user-focused considerations, but also often provides solutions for problems of form, function, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, sustainability, and sales.

Industrial Design (ID) is the professional practice of designing products, devices, objects, and services used by millions of people around the world every day.

Industrial designers typically focus on the physical appearance, functionality and manufacturability of a product, though they are often involved in far more during a development cycle. All of this ultimately extends to the overall lasting value and experience a product or service provides for end-users.

Every object that you interact with on a daily basis in your home, office, school, or public setting is the result of a design process. During this process, myriad decisions are made by an industrial designer (and their team) that are aimed at improving your life through well-executed design.

Why should companies go for Industrial Design Protection?

Most of the businesses often think whether it is worthwhile to go for design protection. Below are some of the advantages of design protection which will help them figure out its importance.

Imparts Value to Product

Industrial designs add a commercial value to a product. An organization increases the value of a product by introducing new features, improving the quality or making them easier to use which in turn makes them a whole lot easier to sell. Hence, the marketability increases.

Generates Profit

Industrial design protection helps to ensure a fair return on investment. The main purpose of building a new design is to gain some sort of a benefit. The inventors receive a considerable amount of monetary benefit on selling their new and innovative industrial products in the market. 

Promotes Healthy Competition

It promotes fair competition and honest trade practices. Industrial design leads to health competition among various organizations which in turn fosters more innovation and results in more new products.

Economic Development

The Industrial Design protection helps in the economic development and fosters creativity in the industrial and manufacturing sector. Industrial design protection provides assurance to the designers throughout the country and motivates them in bringing out more new designs. This leads to the growth of a country economically.

Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that comprise formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily ascertainable by others, and which the owner takes reasonable measures to keep secret. In some jurisdictions, such secrets are referred to as confidential information.

The precise language by which a trade secret is defined varies by jurisdiction, as do the particular types of information that are subject to trade secret protection. Three factors are common to all such definitions:

A trade secret is information that

• Is not generally known to the public;
• Confers economic benefit on its holder because the information is not publicly known; and
• Where the holder makes reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

In international law, these three factors define a trade secret under article 39 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, commonly referred to as the TRIPS Agreement.

Similarly, in the United States Economic Espionage Act of 1996, “A trade secret, as defined under 18 U.S.C. § 1839(3)(A),(B) (1996), has three parts:

• Information
• Reasonable measures taken to protect the information
• Which derives independent economic value from not being publicly known.”

Value of Trade Secrets

Trade secrets are an important, but invisible component of a company’s intellectual property (IP). Their contribution to a company’s value, measured as its market capitalization, can be major. Being invisible, that contribution is hard to measure. Patents are a visible contribution, but delayed, and unsuitable for internal innovations. Having an internal scoreboard provides insight into the cost of risks of employees leaving to serve or start competing ventures.

Protection of Trade Secrets

In contrast to registered intellectual property, trade secrets are, by definition, not disclosed to the world at large. Instead, owners of trade secrets seek to protect trade secret information from competitors by instituting special procedures for handling it, as well as technological and legal security measures. Legal protections include non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and work-for-hire and non-compete clauses. In other words, in exchange for an opportunity to be employed by the holder of secrets, an employee may sign agreements to not reveal their prospective employer’s proprietary information, to surrender or assign to their employer ownership rights to intellectual work and work-products produced during the course (or as a condition) of employment, and to not work for a competitor for a given period of time (sometimes within a given geographic region). Violation of the agreement generally carries the possibility of heavy financial penalties which operate as a disincentive to reveal trade secrets. However, proving a breach of an NDA by a former stakeholder who is legally working for a competitor or prevailing in a lawsuit for breaching a non-compete clause can be very difficult. A holder of a trade secret may also require similar agreements from other parties he or she deals with, such as vendors, licensees, and board members.

As a company can protect its confidential information through NDA, work-for-hire, and non-compete contracts with its stakeholders (within the constraints of employment law, including only restraint that is reasonable in geographic- and time-scope), these protective contractual measures effectively create a perpetual monopoly on secret information that does not expire as would a patent or copyright. The lack of formal protection associated with registered intellectual property rights, however, means that a third party not bound by a signed agreement is not prevented from independently duplicating and using the secret information once it is discovered, such as through reverse engineering.

Therefore, trade secrets such as secret formulae are often protected by restricting the key information to a few trusted individuals. Famous examples of products protected by trade secrets are Chartreuse liqueur and Coca-Cola.

Because protection of trade secrets can, in principle, extend indefinitely, it therefore may provide an advantage over patent protection and other registered intellectual property rights, which last only for a specific duration. The Coca-Cola company, for example, has no patent for the formula of Coca-Cola and has been effective in protecting it for many more years than the 20 years of protection that a patent would have provided. In fact, Coca-Cola refused to reveal its trade secret under at least two judges’ orders.

The ten most innovative companies are ranked by their innovation premium. This is the difference between their market capitalization and a net present value of cash flow from existing businesses. The difference between them is the bonus given by equity investors on the educated hunch that the company will continue to come up with profitable new growth. By this measurement are shareholders involved.

A disruptive company is a business whose innovations force other businesses to alter their strategic course. They are changing the market.

Traditional technology can manage that, until a new technology is made. After some time, the disruptive innovation is able to easily meet the customer’s demand for performance.

Radical innovations replace existing products, technologies and markets.

Reasons for a company to do innovation:

• A successful new product does more good to an organization than anything else that can happen.
• Growth
• Companies need always innovations to stay alive.

Innovation product life cycle:

• Introduction
• Growth
• Maturity
• Decline

The new things are happening before the introduction stage. But although it is on the beginning of the life cycle, the company should already know what is going to happen in the next stages.

Innovation is the process from idea to product. Innovation is depending on creativity of individuals, firm’s operating functions and activities and firm’s architecture and external linkages.

There are push and pull innovations. Push innovations are based on the latest science and technology advances in society. Pull innovations are based on the needs in society and the marketplace.

Invention: creation of a unique, hopefully patentable, device/configuration/process. An invention is only an innovation if it is marketable.

Innovation: transforming an invention into a commercial product that can be sold profitably.

Innovation management: the management of all activities involved in the process of idea generations, technology development, manufacturing and marketing of a new product or manufacturing process or equipment.

Product development/product design product planning: the complete process of transforming an opportunity into a new product and introducing it successfully in the market.

Product design: industrial design (art, science and technology)

There are some spectrums of design activities: engineering, product/use, fashion/trends, engineering solutions, form concepts and design trends.

There are two main business processes:

• The process of repeatedly making a product/service and delivering that to the customer. It focuses on the buy-make-distribute-sell-service, the supply chain and on operational value stream.
• The process of designing a new product/service that is profitable in the market. It focuses on design, development, innovation chain and development value stream.

The operational value stream consists of activities that converting raw material to products in the hand of the customers and activities that are value creating because customers pay for the changed materials.

The operational value stream has the following characteristics: material flow, it is repeated and there is process control.

The development value stream consists of activities that create profitable operational value streams and activities that create useable knowledge, which involves learning.

The development value stream has the following characteristics: information flow, it is a one time stream and there is a disciplined process.

The state has different roles in innovation:

• Purchaser
• Financing R&D
• Educational and other societal effects
• Competition regulator
• Environment and safety regulator
• Infrastructure
• Macroeconomic conditions
• Information and decision center, create political stability

The industry attractiveness can be determined by Porters model, which identifies five factors: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, rivalry among existing firms and the threat of substitute products and services.

Innovativeness can be measured on different levels. On national/regional level a scoreboard can be used. On industry level the innovation index is a way to measure innovativeness. At the firm level, the percentage of sales of new products, the value of patents or the Net Promotor Score.

The Net Promotor Score is a measurement, which is based on the question if a costumer would recommend this product/service/organization to a friend or colleague. The Net Promotor Score is calculated by the percentage promotes minus the percentage detractors. 

Frugal innovation is an innovation strategy of a large market, which implies that private companies can make significant profits by selling to the poor. By selling to the poor, private companies can bring prosperity to the poor and thus can help eradicate poverty. 

The diffusion of innovations is divided into five categories: the innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and the laggards. 

Factors that are influencing adoption:

• Relative advantage: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as being better than its precursors
• Compatibility: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, needs, and past experiences of potential adopters.
• Complexity: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as being difficult to use.
• Observability: The degree to which the results of an innovation are observable to others.
• Trialability: The degree to which an innovation may be experimented with before adoption.

Innovation is nothing more than a tool that enables companies to achieve unique, strategic goals. It should not simply be a slogan, nor an end unto itself, argues Jeffrey Baumgartner. To be truly innovative, an organization should have seven essential characteristics.

What makes for an innovative company? An innovation initiative is not enough. Having the word “innovation” in your company slogan or all over your web site is not enough. Indeed, I would argue that any kind of focus on innovation as an end is detrimental to innovation. Innovation is nothing more than a tool that enables companies to achieve unique, strategic goals. Here are seven essential characteristics of innovative companies. How well does your organization do?

1. Unique and Relevant Strategy

Arguably, the most defining characteristic of a truly innovative company is having a unique and relevant strategy. We all know what companies like Apple, Facebook and Google do. That’s because they make their strategies clear and relentless follow them. An innovative smaller player may not be recognised globally, but its leaders, employees, business partners and customers all will have a clear idea of the company’s strategy. If a business does not have definable, unique strategy, it will not be innovative. Bland strategies, such as “to be the best”, do not provide a path to innovation in the same way clearer strategies, such as “to be on the cutting edge of mobile communications technology,” “to build the world’s safest cars”or “to deliver anything anywhere” do. If your strategy is vague or fails to differentiate your company from the competition, you should change this situation as quickly as possible!

2. Innovation Is a Means to Achieve Strategic Goals

Highly innovative companies do not see innovation as an end, but rather as a means to achieving strategic goals. Just as a good camera is an essential tool that enables the photographer to take professional images and the saw is an essential tool for the carpenter, innovation is an essential tool for visionary companies intent on achieving their strategic goals. Indeed, if you look at the web sites of the world’s most innovative companies, they tend not to trumpet innovation, but rather corporate vision.

3. Innovators Are Leaders

The one thing innovation provides more than anything else is market leadership. When companies use innovation to achieve strategic goals, they inevitably take the lead in their markets. Unfortunately, this does not always translate to being the most successful or profitable. Amazon has been an innovator from the beginning, setting many of the standards for e-commerce. Nevertheless, it took some years for the company to become profitable. Cord was one of the world’s most innovative car companies, launching cutting edge innovations such as front wheel drive and pop-up headlights in the 1920s and 30s. However the company was never very successful financially and went out of business in 1938. On the other hand, innovators like Apple and Google have been financially successful as a result of their innovation. In short, innovators are leaders, but not always profitable leaders!

4. Innovators Implement

Most businesses have a lot of creative employees with a lot of ideas. Some of those ideas are even relevant to companies’ needs. However, one thing that differentiates innovators from wannabe innovators is that innovators implement ideas. Less innovative companies talk more about ideas than implementing them!

5. Failure Is an Option

We would argue the the most critical element of business culture, for an innovative company, is giving employees freedom and encouragement to fail. If employees know that they can fail without endangering their careers, they are more willing to take on risky, innovative projects that offer huge potential rewards to their companies. On the other hand, if employees believe that being part of a failed project will have professional consequences, they will avoid risk and hence innovation like the plague. More importantly, if senior managers reward early failure, employees are far more likely to evaluate projects regularly and kill those projects that are failing before that failure becomes too expensive. This frees up resources and budget for new innovative endeavours. However, in businesses where failure is not an option, employees will often stick with failing projects, investing ever more resources in hopes that the project will eventually succeed. When it does not, losses are greater and reputations are ruined. As a result, companies that reward failure often fail less than those that discourage it.

6. Environment of Trust

The Innovative company provides its employees with an environment of trust. There is a lot of risk involved in innovation. Highly creative ideas often initially sound stupid. If employees fear ridicule for sharing outrageous ideas, they will not share such ideas. Likewise, if employees fear reprimand for participating in unsuccessful projects, they will not participate. If employees do not trust each other, they will be watching their backs all the time. If they fear managers will steal their ideas and claim them as their own, employees will not share ideas. On the other hand, if employees know they can take reasonable risks without fear, if they know outrageous ideas are welcome, if they know that their managers will champion their ideas and credit them for those ideas, these employees can be creative, implement ideas and drive the company’s innovation. In short, creativity and innovation thrive when people in an organization trust each other and their organization.

7. Autonomy

Along with trust, individual and team autonomy is a key component of innovation. If you give individuals and teams clear goals together with the freedom to find their own paths for achieving those goals, you create fertile ground for innovation. But, if managers watch over their subordinates’ shoulders, micro-managing their every move, you stifle the creativity and individual thought that is necessary for innovation. Of course giving employees autonomy means they may make mistakes. They may choose inefficient routes to achieving goals. But at worst, they will learn from their mistakes and inefficiencies. At best, they will discover new and better ways of accomplishing objectives. Most importantly, if you hire intelligent, capable, creative people and give them the freedom to solve problems, they will do so. And, in so doing, they well help innovation to thrive throughout the company.