NEWS & EVENTS
Top 10 Inventions for 2011
In the five years that Popular Science has run the Invention Awards, we’ve seen a lot of remarkable things come out of people’s garages. Some are designed to treat the sick or save the planet. Others are simply fun to play with. But no matter what the purpose, the brilliance of the inventions and the dedication of the individuals behind them are always inspiring. More...
Winners of The Australian Innovation Challenge Announced
The Australian, in association with Shell and with the support of the Federal Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research have announced the winners of the inaugural $70,000 The Australian Innovation Challenge at a gala awards night at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane. More...
10 Best Start-Up Ideas of 2011
Starting a business involves plenty of perspiration – so much so, in fact, that the moment of inspiration can seem like a dim and rather idyllic memory. However, generating great ideas is essential if you are to build a differentiated business. Even if your first brainwave doesn’t quite work out, it’s likely you will learn enough to be able to give it a better crack second time around. The ‘Eureka’ moment was alive and well in 2011, with plenty of weird and wonderful business ideas, from “man candles” and electronic flower pots to a bus shelter being turned into a giant oven in the name of advertising. More...
Government Says Businesses No Longer Need to Repay Early-Stage Commercialisation Australia Grants
In news that will cheer businesses looking for financial support for a new product or service, early stage commercialisation grants of up to $2 million will no longer have to be repaid and larger companies are now encouraged to apply. More...
Australia’s ‘Coolest’ Companies Celebrate a Remarkable Year at 6th Annual Cool Company Awards
What makes a ‘cool’ company? According to Anthill founder and Cool Company MC James Tuckerman (aka ‘MC Banter’), it is an organisation that has proven itself to be, in its most literal definition, remarkable. “They can be amazing, innovative, one-of-a-kind. They can be all those things. But what sets cool companies apart is that they are, by their very nature, worthy of being ‘remarked’ about.” This year’s winners, honoured at an event at MiFA (the Melbourne International Fine Arts Gallery), featured a carpooling website that has facilitated 80,000 shared rides, an innovation that helps women wear high heels on grass and an organisation responsible for the development of…wait for it…mind control technologies. More...
Updates Help Small Businesses Find Grants
Business owners can now search for government funding and support more easily following updates to the Grants & Assistance Finder tool on the Australian Government's small business website. The Minister for Small Business, Senator Nick Sherry, says the updates will ensure the tool gives business owners improved access to government grants and assistance. More...
Aussie Innovation Bears Fruit
A hybrid Australian fruit dubbed the Nadia will grow commercially for the first time in South Korea under a recent agreement. Nadias were developed by naturally crossing cherries and plums, then selecting lines with desirable traits. More...
WIPO Report Shows Growing Demand for IP Changes Face of Innovation
The “World Intellectual Property Report 2011 - The Changing Face of Innovation” – a new WIPO publication – describes how ownership of intellectual property (IP) rights has become central to the strategies of innovating firms worldwide. With global demand for patents rising from 800,000 applications in the early 1980s to 1.8 million in 2009, the Report concludes that growing investments in innovation and the globalisation of economic activities are key drivers of this trend. More...
Device That Harvests Water From Thin Air Wins the James Dyson Award
Young Melbourne-based inventor Edward Linacre has won the 2011 James Dyson Award, making it the second year in a row where the prestigious prize has gone to an Aussie. Linacre stole this year's competition with his Airdrop irrigation concept that collects water from thin air. The Swinburne University of Technology design graduate was driven to transform an ancient cooling technique into a new sub-surface irrigation system, following the enduring Australian drought that saw high levels of farmer suicide along Australia's Murray- Darling Basin. More...
Fast Tracking Patents for Green Technology
IP Australia is helping green innovators find a fast track to the marketplace by offering priority to environmentally friendly technologies in the patent application system. This initiative offers environmentally-beneficial inventions a way to reach consumers quickly. Climate change and its global impact is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century and we know that technology and innovation play a key role in our ability to manage it effectively. More...
Peanut Allergy Turned Off By Tricking Immune System
Researchers have turned off a life-threatening allergic response to peanuts by tricking the immune system into thinking the nut proteins aren't a threat to the body, according to a new preclinical study from Northwestern Medicine. More...
New Wave of Ocean Energy To Be Trialed Off The Coast of Australia
Anyone who has ever been scuba diving in a bull kelp forest will tell you - the stuff does not stand still. The marine aquatic plant consists of a long skinny-but-tough stem (or stipe) that is anchored to the sea floor and topped with a hollow float, from which a number of "leaves" (or blades) extend to the surface. The result is a seaweed that extends vertically up through the water column, continuously swaying back and forth with the surging waves. The researchers at Australia's BioPower Systems evidently looked at that kelp, and thought, "what if we could use that swaying action to generate power?" The result was their envisioned bioWAVE system, which could soon become a reality, thanks to a just-announced AUD$5 million (US$5.1 million) grant from the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources. More...
Goodbye to ABC’s The New Inventors
Television favourite among invention aficionados, ABC’s The New Inventors unfortunately will not be returning in 2012. Since 2004 the series has showcased Australian inventiveness and provided immense opportunity for those lucky enough to appear on the show - including over the years, many IDC Hunter clients. It's a shame to see The New Inventors go however here's hoping for another comeback in the future. In case you missed it, click here to watch the grand final and last episode of the show.
Thing-O-Matic Brings Images to Life
A device known as the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic can turn two-dimensional images into three-dimensional objects made of plastic. Shaped like a hollow wooden box, and referred to as a printer by its New York-based creators, the $1,200 gadget translates images into code for 3D. More...
Innovation’s Down, But Patent Trolls are Thriving
Innovation seems to be on the wane lately: “The quality of new patents around the world has fallen dramatically over the past two decades,” concludes a new OECD report on science and technology trends. In nearly every country, patent offices are getting flooded with more and more patents for dubious or low-quality inventions. And that, the OECD report notes, leaves everyone worse off: “The rush to protect even minor improvements in products or services is overburdening patent offices. This slows the time to market for true innovations and reduces the potential for breakthrough inventions.” More...
Swallowable Perfume Will Emit Fragrance From The Skin
In a world where nano-porous materials in our clothes can make deodorant unnecessary, it may seem almost old-fashioned to continue to apply perfume to our skin. That’s certainly the view of the team behind Swallowable Parfum, an innovation that allows users to swallow a capsule to produce a fragrance that emanates from within. More...
Australia Failing to Get Top Start-Up Ideas to Market: Report
Australia is falling down on the "entrepreneurial supply chain" from research to industry, meaning that many promising start-up ideas are not being commercialised, according to a new report. Dr Fiona Q Wood, of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, compiled a report on the nature of entrepreneurship in Australia and how it compares with other countries. More...
Intellectual Property Demystified
It's now easier than ever to access information about intellectual property (IP). IP Australia has listened to customers and given its website a major overhaul. Relevant, accessible, and written in plain English, the site now offers users a host of new features such as:
- learning tools to help choose the right IP,
- step-by-step guides through the application process, and
- simple path flows from beginners to experts.
Scanalert Vehicle Warning System – Business Opportunity Available
The Scanalert Vehicle Warning System (Scanalert) is a collision avoidance system used in warehouses, manufacturing plants etc to prevent forklifts accidentally colliding with obstacles such as property (e.g. walls, doorways) or service conduits (e.g. communications, electricity, water). Opportunity to purchase the Scanalert business including associated equipment, intellectual property (IP) assets and transferable contracts is currently available. More...
TM Check
Business owners can now avoid the costly mistake of registering a business name that has already been trade marked thanks to a new tool – TM Check. Developed by IP Australia, TM Check is designed to be used by business name applicants to help them more easily identify pending and registered trade marks that may be similar or identical to their business name. More...
Consumers Share in Success of Winning Product Ideas
Join a group of business women in your area and learn practical business strategies, network and improve your business success. The program brings fundamental knowledge to achieve business success with the aid of co-operative learning and mentor guidance. More...
IP Licensing Opportunity: Folding Diamond Bicycle
The Folding Diamond Bicycle is an innovative new design for a folding bicycle. The bicycle has been created to provide a lightweight, portable personal transport solution without sacrificing ride quality and comfort. Opportunity to license the IP rights to the invention is now available. More...
New TAFE NSW Hunter Institute Trade Course
TAFE NSW Hunter Institute, Faculty of Business and Computing has launched an exciting new opportunity - selected units in 17895: Certificate IV in International Trade (BSB41107). Course coverage will include:
- Finance, Insurance, Risk Management;
- Customs Clearance Practices;
- International Documentation;
- Research International Business Opportunities;
- Market Goods and Services Internationally;
- International Conventions, Laws, Finance;
- Plan for International Trade;
- Quarantine Procedures; and
- Taxes and Duties.
A partnership between Industry and Investment NSW, TAFE NSW Hunter Institute and IDC Hunter will provide a subsidy of the course fee for eligible participants. More...
Microsoft Imagine Cup – Australia Host Nation in 2012
Each year hundreds of thousands of students from more than 100 countries use their imaginations to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Since the Imagine Cup started in 2003, students have come up with technology solutions to combat disease, improve education, ensure environmental sustainability and reduce poverty and child mortality. Australia has been unveiled as the host nation for the worldwide finals of the Imagine Cup 2012. This event will bring the world’s brightest young minds to the country that gave us the black box recorder, antibiotic penicillin, the bionic ear, the ‘Ute’, and many other world-changing inventions. More...
Kickstarter Funding Platform
Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields. More...
First Australian Patent
When the Australian Patent Office opened in 1904, the first Commissioner of Patents, George Townsend, had four patent examiners and about two dozen support staff. Applications came in thick and fast but the first invention to be granted a patent was for ‘Improvements in air leak preventative for Westinghouse and like brakes’. More...
Quirky- Social Product Development
For centuries, becoming an “inventor” has been a hard gig to crack. Complexities relating to financing, engineering, distribution, and legalities have stood in the way of brilliant people executing their great ideas. Since launching in 2009, Quirky has rapidly changed the way the world thinks about product development. More...
IDC Hunter Novelty Search Service
IDC Hunter has combined two of its most popular services – the International Patent Search and International Product Search to provide clients with a comprehensive ‘Novelty Search' solution. The service investigates the uniqueness or ‘novelty’ of new ideas by searching for prior art including both patented concepts and products that already exist in the marketplace. A Novelty Search is one of the first steps in the commercialisation process recommended by IDC Hunter as it is essential to be aware of any similar products as soon as possible so as to avoid potentially wasting valuable resources developing a new idea (when it already exists or is protected). Without investigating and/or knowing what’s already available could also lead to inadvertently infringing somebody else’s IP rights. For more information about IDC Hunter’s Novelty Search service please contact us.
Entrepreneurial e-Books available Free to Download
Dr Tom McKaskill, formerly a professor at the Australia Graduate School of Entrepreneurship before he retired, has written a series of books on entrepreneurship, venture capital and Business Angels investing, that he is making freely available on the web. He has set up a new website, www.drexit.net where six eBooks for entrepreneurs, angel & VC investors and advisors are available and has invited distribution of these books to the entrepreneurial and angel investor community.
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