Inventing

Gene Luoma solved a universal problem -- clogged drains -- with a strip of plastic from his garage. His device has sold 33 million units.

Building it makes your idea real; video captures it visually. Do less of the first and more of the second to test the market sooner.

Product development is a business. You can't afford rookie errors.

Inventors too often focus on patents and expensive prototypes when what they really need is proof of demand.

When I walked into Hallmark and saw "Sweet Darts," darts inscribed with the words 'I'm Stuck On You," I smiled. Seeing my name on the back never got old.

Do you really need a patent? It all depends on who you ask.

If the patent is ever implemented, folks would be able to watch their favorite films on the go.

If you want to license your ideas, focus on finding those companies that are going to truly embrace you -- companies like Fat Brain.

Read how novice inventor Lesli Jenkins Wang got the conservative medical industry to accept her Free2GoRollator late last year.

This is what it looks like to get 80,000 jackets sourced and manufactured in six months. Hint: It's one long, intense hustle.

A successful entrepreneur reflects on how naivety kept him going forward although things were really rough.

A resourceful inventor brings his creative concepts to life.

I received great advice from my patent attorney after freaking out about one of my big ideas.

What sets apart products that succeed from those that don't? Creating cool products that people will want is not enough, not by a long shot.

It's easier than ever before to get your ideas licensed by bigger companies.

Universities and the federal government have programs that provide more help than many inventors could otherwise dream of affording.

Open innovation is flourishing because creative people want to work for themselves. It's as simple as that.

The head of a company that hooks up inventors with the popular shopping channel dishes on how inventors can show off their products to millions.

As carbon dioxide is burned to fuel our lives, a percentage of that carbon ends up in the world's oceans. The first step in fixing the problem is being able to accurately measure it. That's what Sunburst Sensors is doing.

3D Systems today unveiled a new support filament that dissolves in water as opposed to chemicals.

The Solar Impulse 2 is currently in flight from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii.