Invention v. Innovation: What's the Difference?

Invention is the idea, and innovation is bringing the idea to market.  As we claw our way out of the Great Recession toward recovery, invention is needed to generate new economy.

Enjoy today's reads as we head into the Christmas weekend! 

Question of the Day?  Do you still think there are great American inventors?

 

• Invention v. Innovation (IP Frontline)
• Invention is The Mother of Economic Growth (Bloomberg)
• Malcolm Gladwell on the difference between invention and innovation (Tech Dirt). 

• Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the Telephone
• Though he was born in Scotland and spent some time in Ontario, Alexander Graham Bell didn't actually start inventing until he settled in Boston and became an American citizen...
  John Moses Browning: Inventor of the Semi-Automatic Shotgun
  With over 30 million firearms based on his designs, great American inventor John Moses Browning is one of history's most accomplished weapons designers...
  Willis Carrier: Inventor of Air Conditioning
  If someone made a list of everyday innovations that Americans just couldn't live without, Willis Carrier's invention might be at the top...
  Samuel Colt: Inventor of the Colt Revolver
  Nothing says "Old West" more than Samuel Colt's revolver invention. Originally patented in 1836, many historians have gone so far as to say that Colt's invention changed the course of American history...
  Henry Ford: Inventor of the Moving Assembly Line
  Contrary to popular belief, great American inventor Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. The invention of the first automobile is generally credited to Karl Benz...
  Robert Fulton: Inventor of the Steamboat
  Famous American inventor Robert Fulton didn't actually create the machine he is most commonly associated with (the steamboat), but his innovations did make it commercially viable...
  Charles Goodyear: Inventor of Vulcanized Rubber
  By the mid 1830s, it seemed as though the rubber industry in America was going under. Miraculously, it was saved by a great inventor who had no knowledge of chemistry...
  Cyrus McCormick: Inventor of the Mechanical Reaper
  Not long after Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin, Cyrus McCormick invented another significant agricultural invention that revolutionized farming...
  Samuel F.B. Morse: Inventor of the Telegraph and Morse Code
  Like many other great inventors throughout history, Samuel F.B. Morse was fairly eclectic in his interests. This diversity would lead him to his most famous accomplishment..
  Dr. Jonas Salk: Inventor of the Polio Vaccine
  While there is still no actual cure for Polio, thanks to inventor Dr. Jonas Salk there is a way to prevent the infectious viral disease...
  Eli Whitney: Inventor of the Cotton Gin
  If some people are born with the natural ability to invent, Eli Whitney certainly was one of them. From a young age, Whitney had an innate understanding of machinery...
  Orville & Wilbur Wright: Inventors of the Airplane
  On December 17, 1903, a pair of great inventors from Ohio named Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the world's first airplane. The invention, known as the Wright Flyer, took to the skies for 12 seconds...