Whenever I talk to people about intellectual property and patents I often get this response that “I’m not an inventor; I have no use for such services.”

However sometimes one does end up creating something at one’s work place which turned out come up to be a great invention. Case in point the safety pin. Invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt it is used by the billions each year for application ranging from diaper fasteners to jewelry.

Mr Hunt invited it while fiddling with an eight-inch length of brass at his deask on a winter evening in 1849. He patented his invention the following year and subsequently sold the rights to manufacture it for the sum of USD 400 (approximately SGD 19,000.00 in today’s Singapore).

He invented it to help dressmakers hold clothes together and end the painful pricking caused by traditional sharp and pointed pins. However the safety pin’s obvious utility, versatility and ease of production make it a tool found in every household for generations to come.

What you are working at to assist your work or your life could be a hidden gem. If it is it is definitely an idea worth protecting through intellectual property rights .