18. Invention, Intellectual Property and Income
Summary
This final week at Fab Academy, we were asked to develop a plan for dissemination of our final projects.
1. Invention
An invention is a novel idea transformed into a tangible or functional product, process, or service that solves a specific problem or meets a unique need. In digital fabrication, an invention often combines multiple disciplines, such as mechanics, electronics, software, and design, to produce an integrated system.
Invention is at the heart of innovation, and Fab Academy encourages participants to not only build working prototypes but to develop original contributions that can have practical or societal impact. Identifying what makes a project inventive—be it the mechanism, the integration of components, or the way a problem is addressed—is the first step toward defining its value and potential for future use.
2. Intellectual Property
Intellectual property refers to the legal rights that protect inventions, designs, logos, software, and documentation. For us inventors, understanding IP is essential to decide how a project will be shared, reused, protected, or commercialized.
There are different types of IP protection: patents, which protect technical inventions, copyrights, which protect creative works like code and documentation, and trademarks, which protect brand identities. However, not all projects need to be closed or patented; open-source licenses such as the MIT License, Creative Commons, and GNU GPL allow creators to share their work freely while setting conditions for reuse, attribution, and modification.
Choosing the right IP strategy is not just a legal decision, it also reflects our values as a creator and our vision for how others can engage with our work.
3. Income
Turning an invention into a source of income involves identifying potential value in the project and designing a path to sustainability as a business model. There are many models to consider: direct sales of a product, offering kits or assembly services, licensing the technology to others, or using the project as part of an educational offering.
Income generation can also take non-commercial forms, such as grants, sponsorships, or crowdfunding, which support continued development or community use. Regardless of the path, the key is to align the dissemination strategy with our goals, whether that's sharing knowledge, building a business, or enabling others to build upon our work.
4. Project Dissemination Plan
I intend for my final project, the Observer Arm, to be openly available for anyone interested in studying, referencing, or replicating it. I struggled during development to find examples of similar projects online, so I want to ensure that the next generation of inventors and makers have access to clear and accessible resources.
To achieve this, I plan to publish documentation and resources on open-source and maker platforms such as Instructables and relevant communities on Reddit. By engaging with these communities, I hope to share the Observer Arm with a broader audience, receive feedback, and help others improve or adapt the design.
I am not pursuing a patent or commercial route for this project. Instead, I have chosen to protect and share my work through a Creative Commons license. The project is officially licensed as follows:
Observer Arm © 2025 by José Carlos Matanzo Pérez is licensed under CC BY 4.0
This license allows others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the Observer Arm, even for commercial purposes, as long as appropriate credit is given. It supports the principles of openness and accessibility promoted by Fab Academy.
5. Future Possibilities
Although the Observer Arm is already functional and fulfills its initial purpose, it can still have plenty of upgrades. I plan to keep the current prototype intact to serve as a foundation for future experimentation and improvement. This project has significant potential for evolution, and I am excited about the possibilities it holds.
One of the main areas for improvement is the implementation of wireless communication, which would allow the system to become more portable and less dependent on physical connections to a host computer. Additionally, I am interested in upgrading the motors, particularly by integrating more precise and powerful actuators to improve both responsiveness and load-handling capacity.
Another major enhancement I'd like to explore is the incorporation of a slip ring into the base of the arm. This would eliminate the cable entanglement issues caused by the rotation of the arm and open the door to continuous 360-degree motion. With such a mechanical upgrade, the system would become much more versatile.
On the software side, improvements in the tracking algorithm, the introduction of adaptive motion strategies, and integration with higher-level AI tools could make the system smarter and more responsive in complex environments, although perhaps this may require a much more powerful processing unit, such as an Nvidia Jetson microprocessor.
6. Comments and Recommendations
Looking back on the development of the Observer Arm, one of the most important takeaways is the need for accessibility in technical projects. During the early phases of design and planning, I struggled to find open-source examples or clear documentation of systems similar to what I envisioned. This lack of accessible references made the learning curve steeper and the development process slower.
For this reason, I strongly recommend that anyone developing innovative or educational technology projects consider releasing their work publicly and openly. By sharing designs, code, and lessons learned, we make it easier for others to learn, iterate, and improve. Open-source hardware and software accelerate progress and invention for all of us.
I hope that by making this project fully accessible through detailed documentation and a permissive license, I can contribute to the collective knowledge base and help empower future makers, students, and researchers to take it further.
7. Learning Outcomes
This week was a powerful reminder that invention doesn't end with the final product. Understanding how to share, protect, and potentially commercialize a project is just as important as building it. Through exploring intellectual property, licensing, and dissemination strategies, I gained valuable insight into the broader context of innovation.
One of the most important aspects of this week was learning the differences between types of licenses. The distinction between open and restrictive licenses, commercial and non-commercial terms, and attribution requirements taught me how these choices directly affect how others can use, adapt, or contribute to a project. Choosing the right license isn't just a legal decision, but a philosophical one that defines how a creation will live and propagate in the world.
By selecting a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, I chose to make my project as accessible and reusable as possible. This aligns with my desire to contribute to the global community of makers, researchers, and educators. Overall, this week emphasized the responsibility and opportunity creators have when deciding how to share their work, and how thoughtful licensing can empower collaboration and innovation.