
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Mel Rosenberg I think that foolishness is the mother of invention. It’s this childish wonder
Ilanit Appelfeld You are listening to Professor Mel Rosenberg inventor of the famous
Ilanit Appelfeld Hi Mel I’m very excited that you’re here. I’m excited. Thanks for coming.
Mel Rosenberg Hi listeners.
Ilanit Appelfeld You manage the Ketter Innovation Center at Shenkar college in Ramat
Mel Rosenberg I’m primarily a children’s book writer but I’m not discovered yet.
Ilanit Appelfeld And lately I’ve heard that you have been approached by one of the
Mel Rosenberg I can’t deny that but I’m not going to confirm it either.
Ilanit Appelfeld Well let’s just dive in.
Mel Rosenberg Dive away.
Ilanit Appelfeld How do you decide if and when to file a patent application.
Mel Rosenberg So of course not all ideas need to be patented. Not all ideas can be
Mel Rosenberg Yes but when you’re a small company you don’t know what your product
Ilanit Appelfeld So your advice would be wait as much as you can in filing your patent
Mel Rosenberg Well there’s there’s always a dilemma because you can’t tell anybody
Ilanit Appelfeld But what about investment processes I mean venture capitalists
Mel Rosenberg Sometimes this is a mistake. If you’re an investor and you’re looking at
Ilanit Appelfeld I think that when the technology is strong and the patents don’t drive the
Mel Rosenberg I’m a believer in provisionals. So I would say the following If the investor
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And then if you can do about that turnaround within a year’s time or so
Ilanit Appelfeld Mm hmm. I know that you teach creative thinking oral presentations and
Ilanit Appelfeld Well when I started giving courses on creative thinking with Dr. Alon Amit
Ilanit Appelfeld Such as for example.
Mel Rosenberg Well we we teach them that creativity is a two step process. Most people
Ilanit Appelfeld So it is a necessity the mother of invention as they say or they create.
Mel Rosenberg No I think that I think that foolishness is the mother of invention.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg It’s this childish wonder at the world and just noticing things and making
Ilanit Appelfeld Could you take us to that inventive moment in your company in your
Mel Rosenberg Well again it’s mostly discovery. It’s mostly noticing things that are
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg So I’m a very obstinate person. So yes I did stick with this from the
Ilanit Appelfeld Amazing.
Mel Rosenberg Why why shouldn’t they be but the other thing is that at some stage if
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Yeah I’ve seen this with some of my clients. So if we go back.
Mel Rosenberg Well if it’s an Internet company perhaps never.
Ilanit Appelfeld No I totally agree.
Mel Rosenberg If it’s a tech not technology company then I think at this stage where you
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Right.
Mel Rosenberg So it’s over. It’s important have a very good idea of what your technology
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And I had one patent which I never told you about that. We got a patent
Ilanit Appelfeld To get the first patent without a proper examination.
Mel Rosenberg Now we have the examination he said OK this is new this is
Mel Rosenberg No we didn’t. In other words that patent went through first time.
Ilanit Appelfeld Excellent.
Mel Rosenberg There was no it was a lousy patent.
Ilanit Appelfeld Oh I see.
Mel Rosenberg Because the claim the first claim was so restrictive that it was new it was
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg Which would probably have been rejected the first first time round.
Ilanit Appelfeld That’s always a challenge.
Mel Rosenberg Because our patent was too narrow. So we got the path and brain
Ilanit Appelfeld Unbelievable. So in that example getting a patent quickly was a bad sign.
Mel Rosenberg Yes, but I didn’t see it at the time.
Ilanit Appelfeld Is that there is always a challenge between finding a patent that is not too
Mel Rosenberg Yeah. But if it’s a provisional you can afford to be wide.
Ilanit Appelfeld Of course.
Mel Rosenberg I would. In retrospect looking back at my career and all my failures and
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg I mean again.
Ilanit Appelfeld If you know provisional you have nothing to lose anyway but.
Mel Rosenberg If you’re a startup you don’t want the examination to go back and forth too
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg But that’s not a bad thing. You have the money.
Ilanit Appelfeld I’ll tell you what. In litigation the more times you go back and forth with the
Mel Rosenberg Yes, But if we’re talking about a small company.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And I only have experience with small companies you don’t want to reach
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. No absolutely.
Mel Rosenberg Litigation we were one of our patents was challenged by a multinational
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg You’re trying to fight off this humongous monster of a company.
Ilanit Appelfeld I guess there were no litigation funders at the time and no patent trolls.
Mel Rosenberg But it wouldn’t have helped us that much, because well it might have. But
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. So, as an inventor and prolific at that what would you say is the
Mel Rosenberg Pay them. It’s very expensive. And for startups it can be onerous. So you
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Okay. But about companies who need the handholding I mean we
Mel Rosenberg I think that that’s a great tip. I certainly benefited over the years by having
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And if the patent attorney has a lot of experience as you do it’s invaluable
Ilanit Appelfeld Absolutely. And as someone who has been part of a large corporation do
Mel Rosenberg It’s it’s a good question. Here in Israel as an employee of a company
Ilanit Appelfeld Because it would give you status and you would have a packed under
Mel Rosenberg Well Ilanit unless you work at a company that thrives on innovation loves
Ilanit Appelfeld Well let’s talk about Israeli startups. You know a startup.
Ilanit Appelfeld I want to talk about a big company.
Ilanit Appelfeld OK.
Mel Rosenberg Big companies are actually against innovation. They punish innovation.
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg Bark for an hour and then go home.
Ilanit Appelfeld All right. OK. We’ve seen that in Israel live. We’ve never managed to
Mel Rosenberg So I think in most companies the inventors are not priced. Quite the
Ilanit Appelfeld Really!
Mel Rosenberg Yeah I can tell you many discussions that I had with senior university
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg The fortune and fame that they were receiving because they weren’t
Ilanit Appelfeld Ilanit Appelfeld Well I’m very surprised to hear that.
Mel Rosenberg Mm hmm. But on the other hand it was an environment in which I could
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And patents that didn’t go in. So I have this like dual citizenship at Tel
Ilanit Appelfeld How long.
Mel Rosenberg It has patent protection for the next year. Just by happenstance.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg Everywhere else in the world the patents have expired ages ago. So if
Ilanit Appelfeld Absolutely. Yeah.
Mel Rosenberg So yes absolutely hasn’t been taken. I mean look if you’re the big drug
Ilanit Appelfeld Right there are CIP’s of this strategy is on.
Mel Rosenberg But and then. But if you’re a small company and you’re working on
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. The statistics are amazing. I mean if we look back to the history of
Mel Rosenberg I would and also we need to remember that very few patents succeed.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Yeah. Closer to 10…
Mel Rosenberg It hasn’t hasn’t. Everything’s been invented on. And I said to them Well
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And that was all happenstance.
Ilanit Appelfeld So let’s touch the topic of trade secrets. I’m in love with trade secrets.
Mel Rosenberg And you should be. I thought you were in love with your husband and
Ilanit Appelfeld We meet a lot of companies that have these ideas for patents and we end
Mel Rosenberg And now you have to say what you’re doing really!
Ilanit Appelfeld Keep it as a trade secret.
Mel Rosenberg Yeah,.
Ilanit Appelfeld It’s not always the right way to go but if it’s something that’s not easily
Mel Rosenberg Yes I think that that is wonderful. And it’s even better alongside the
Ilanit Appelfeld Yeah absolutely. But we spoke about your future plans that you were
Mel Rosenberg So first of all as you know my dream is to be an acknowledged children’s
Ilanit AppelfeldAbsolutely.
Mel Rosenberg But even the ones that blew up on the way are no less fun and I want to
Ilanit Appelfeld Yeah. I’m really glad that you left Canada will be in Israel.
Mel Rosenberg That was also a quirky idea.
Ilanit Appelfeld Sure let’s share the knowledge or in your experience I think you’re a great
Mel Rosenberg Well I’m grateful but I can only tell you that Israel is a country that enables
Ilanit Appelfeld You wouldn’t be writing children’s books if you know.
Mel Rosenberg In Canada they wouldn’t look at it well.
Ilanit Appelfeld I get it. Thank you so much for coming. Really excited. That you’re here.
Mel Rosenberg I’m excited too and when’s lunch.
The post On creativity and Innovation first appeared on AppeIfeld&Co..
5
11 ratings
Mel Rosenberg I think that foolishness is the mother of invention. It’s this childish wonder
Ilanit Appelfeld You are listening to Professor Mel Rosenberg inventor of the famous
Ilanit Appelfeld Hi Mel I’m very excited that you’re here. I’m excited. Thanks for coming.
Mel Rosenberg Hi listeners.
Ilanit Appelfeld You manage the Ketter Innovation Center at Shenkar college in Ramat
Mel Rosenberg I’m primarily a children’s book writer but I’m not discovered yet.
Ilanit Appelfeld And lately I’ve heard that you have been approached by one of the
Mel Rosenberg I can’t deny that but I’m not going to confirm it either.
Ilanit Appelfeld Well let’s just dive in.
Mel Rosenberg Dive away.
Ilanit Appelfeld How do you decide if and when to file a patent application.
Mel Rosenberg So of course not all ideas need to be patented. Not all ideas can be
Mel Rosenberg Yes but when you’re a small company you don’t know what your product
Ilanit Appelfeld So your advice would be wait as much as you can in filing your patent
Mel Rosenberg Well there’s there’s always a dilemma because you can’t tell anybody
Ilanit Appelfeld But what about investment processes I mean venture capitalists
Mel Rosenberg Sometimes this is a mistake. If you’re an investor and you’re looking at
Ilanit Appelfeld I think that when the technology is strong and the patents don’t drive the
Mel Rosenberg I’m a believer in provisionals. So I would say the following If the investor
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And then if you can do about that turnaround within a year’s time or so
Ilanit Appelfeld Mm hmm. I know that you teach creative thinking oral presentations and
Ilanit Appelfeld Well when I started giving courses on creative thinking with Dr. Alon Amit
Ilanit Appelfeld Such as for example.
Mel Rosenberg Well we we teach them that creativity is a two step process. Most people
Ilanit Appelfeld So it is a necessity the mother of invention as they say or they create.
Mel Rosenberg No I think that I think that foolishness is the mother of invention.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg It’s this childish wonder at the world and just noticing things and making
Ilanit Appelfeld Could you take us to that inventive moment in your company in your
Mel Rosenberg Well again it’s mostly discovery. It’s mostly noticing things that are
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg So I’m a very obstinate person. So yes I did stick with this from the
Ilanit Appelfeld Amazing.
Mel Rosenberg Why why shouldn’t they be but the other thing is that at some stage if
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Yeah I’ve seen this with some of my clients. So if we go back.
Mel Rosenberg Well if it’s an Internet company perhaps never.
Ilanit Appelfeld No I totally agree.
Mel Rosenberg If it’s a tech not technology company then I think at this stage where you
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Right.
Mel Rosenberg So it’s over. It’s important have a very good idea of what your technology
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And I had one patent which I never told you about that. We got a patent
Ilanit Appelfeld To get the first patent without a proper examination.
Mel Rosenberg Now we have the examination he said OK this is new this is
Mel Rosenberg No we didn’t. In other words that patent went through first time.
Ilanit Appelfeld Excellent.
Mel Rosenberg There was no it was a lousy patent.
Ilanit Appelfeld Oh I see.
Mel Rosenberg Because the claim the first claim was so restrictive that it was new it was
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg Which would probably have been rejected the first first time round.
Ilanit Appelfeld That’s always a challenge.
Mel Rosenberg Because our patent was too narrow. So we got the path and brain
Ilanit Appelfeld Unbelievable. So in that example getting a patent quickly was a bad sign.
Mel Rosenberg Yes, but I didn’t see it at the time.
Ilanit Appelfeld Is that there is always a challenge between finding a patent that is not too
Mel Rosenberg Yeah. But if it’s a provisional you can afford to be wide.
Ilanit Appelfeld Of course.
Mel Rosenberg I would. In retrospect looking back at my career and all my failures and
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg I mean again.
Ilanit Appelfeld If you know provisional you have nothing to lose anyway but.
Mel Rosenberg If you’re a startup you don’t want the examination to go back and forth too
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg But that’s not a bad thing. You have the money.
Ilanit Appelfeld I’ll tell you what. In litigation the more times you go back and forth with the
Mel Rosenberg Yes, But if we’re talking about a small company.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And I only have experience with small companies you don’t want to reach
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. No absolutely.
Mel Rosenberg Litigation we were one of our patents was challenged by a multinational
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg You’re trying to fight off this humongous monster of a company.
Ilanit Appelfeld I guess there were no litigation funders at the time and no patent trolls.
Mel Rosenberg But it wouldn’t have helped us that much, because well it might have. But
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. So, as an inventor and prolific at that what would you say is the
Mel Rosenberg Pay them. It’s very expensive. And for startups it can be onerous. So you
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Okay. But about companies who need the handholding I mean we
Mel Rosenberg I think that that’s a great tip. I certainly benefited over the years by having
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And if the patent attorney has a lot of experience as you do it’s invaluable
Ilanit Appelfeld Absolutely. And as someone who has been part of a large corporation do
Mel Rosenberg It’s it’s a good question. Here in Israel as an employee of a company
Ilanit Appelfeld Because it would give you status and you would have a packed under
Mel Rosenberg Well Ilanit unless you work at a company that thrives on innovation loves
Ilanit Appelfeld Well let’s talk about Israeli startups. You know a startup.
Ilanit Appelfeld I want to talk about a big company.
Ilanit Appelfeld OK.
Mel Rosenberg Big companies are actually against innovation. They punish innovation.
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg Bark for an hour and then go home.
Ilanit Appelfeld All right. OK. We’ve seen that in Israel live. We’ve never managed to
Mel Rosenberg So I think in most companies the inventors are not priced. Quite the
Ilanit Appelfeld Really!
Mel Rosenberg Yeah I can tell you many discussions that I had with senior university
Ilanit Appelfeld All right.
Mel Rosenberg The fortune and fame that they were receiving because they weren’t
Ilanit Appelfeld Ilanit Appelfeld Well I’m very surprised to hear that.
Mel Rosenberg Mm hmm. But on the other hand it was an environment in which I could
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And patents that didn’t go in. So I have this like dual citizenship at Tel
Ilanit Appelfeld How long.
Mel Rosenberg It has patent protection for the next year. Just by happenstance.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg Everywhere else in the world the patents have expired ages ago. So if
Ilanit Appelfeld Absolutely. Yeah.
Mel Rosenberg So yes absolutely hasn’t been taken. I mean look if you’re the big drug
Ilanit Appelfeld Right there are CIP’s of this strategy is on.
Mel Rosenberg But and then. But if you’re a small company and you’re working on
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. The statistics are amazing. I mean if we look back to the history of
Mel Rosenberg I would and also we need to remember that very few patents succeed.
Ilanit Appelfeld Right. Yeah. Closer to 10…
Mel Rosenberg It hasn’t hasn’t. Everything’s been invented on. And I said to them Well
Ilanit Appelfeld Right.
Mel Rosenberg And that was all happenstance.
Ilanit Appelfeld So let’s touch the topic of trade secrets. I’m in love with trade secrets.
Mel Rosenberg And you should be. I thought you were in love with your husband and
Ilanit Appelfeld We meet a lot of companies that have these ideas for patents and we end
Mel Rosenberg And now you have to say what you’re doing really!
Ilanit Appelfeld Keep it as a trade secret.
Mel Rosenberg Yeah,.
Ilanit Appelfeld It’s not always the right way to go but if it’s something that’s not easily
Mel Rosenberg Yes I think that that is wonderful. And it’s even better alongside the
Ilanit Appelfeld Yeah absolutely. But we spoke about your future plans that you were
Mel Rosenberg So first of all as you know my dream is to be an acknowledged children’s
Ilanit AppelfeldAbsolutely.
Mel Rosenberg But even the ones that blew up on the way are no less fun and I want to
Ilanit Appelfeld Yeah. I’m really glad that you left Canada will be in Israel.
Mel Rosenberg That was also a quirky idea.
Ilanit Appelfeld Sure let’s share the knowledge or in your experience I think you’re a great
Mel Rosenberg Well I’m grateful but I can only tell you that Israel is a country that enables
Ilanit Appelfeld You wouldn’t be writing children’s books if you know.
Mel Rosenberg In Canada they wouldn’t look at it well.
Ilanit Appelfeld I get it. Thank you so much for coming. Really excited. That you’re here.
Mel Rosenberg I’m excited too and when’s lunch.
The post On creativity and Innovation first appeared on AppeIfeld&Co..