You're Already an Inventor. Now Let's Make It Official.
Why women inventors need to know how to protect their ideas—and how to start today.
Let me ask you something: Have you ever solved a problem in a way nobody else had thought of? Designed a system, created a product, built a process, or come up with an idea so good you thought, Someone should really make this?
Congratulations. You are an inventor.
Women have been inventing since day one.
Now here is where it gets interesting—and a little infuriating. Only 13% of patent holders in the United States are women. Thirteen percent. Let that sit for a second.
It is not because women are not inventing things. We absolutely are. We always have been. The problem is that, for generations, women have been far less likely to know how to protect what they create, far less likely to be encouraged to do so, and far less likely to have people in their corner who take their ideas seriously.
That ends here. That ends with us.
What Even Is Intellectual Property? (And Why You Should Care)
Intellectual property (IP for short) is the legal protection for the things your brain creates. Think of it as a fence around your ideas. It tells the world: This is mine. I made it. You need my permission to use it.
There are four main types, and if you are building a brand, a business, a product, or a method, you should know about all of them:
- Patent: Protects an invention—a new and useful product, process, or design. This is what most people think of when they hear “IP.”
- Trademark: Protects your brand identity, including your name, logo, slogan, and even distinctive colors or sounds. (Yes, the iconic Tiffany & Co. blue is trademarked—and honestly, as it should be.)
- Copyright: Protects original creative works the moment they are created, including writing, music, art, and software code. You do not have to register it, but registration provides stronger legal protection.
- Trade Secret: Protects confidential information that gives you a competitive advantage, such as the Coca-Cola formula, KFC’s eleven herbs and spices, or your grandmother’s pie recipe if you ever decide to commercialize it.
Here is why this matters for you specifically: if you are building a brand, launching a product, writing curriculum, developing a method, or creating anything with value—and someone else files first—it can become legally theirs instead of yours.
The United States is a “first-to-file” country. It does not matter who had the idea first. It matters who filed the paperwork first.
I know. It is a lot. But stay with me.
How to Protect What Is Yours: A No-Panic Guide
Document Everything—Starting Today
Before you file anything or spend a dollar, start a dated invention journal. Write down your ideas, sketches, processes, and revisions. Date every entry.
This becomes your paper trail and evidence of creation.
Old-school? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
Do a Quick Search Before You Fall in Love With the Idea
Before investing time and money into protecting an idea, make sure someone else has not already claimed it.
The USPTO Patent Public Search Tool is free, and so is Google Patents.
Search your concept, product name, and brand name. Spending one afternoon researching can save you thousands of dollars later.
File a Provisional Patent Application (Your New Best Friend)
This is a move not enough women know about.
A provisional patent application is not a full patent. Think of it as a placeholder that immediately gives you “patent pending” status for one year while you refine your invention, seek investors, or decide whether pursuing a full patent makes sense.
The cost can be as low as $60 for qualifying micro-entities.
Once you file, you can officially say your invention is patent pending. Put it on your pitch deck. Put it on your packaging. Own it.
Know Your IP Type—Patents Are Not Always the Answer
Not everything needs a patent.
- New product or process → Patent
- Brand name, logo, or slogan → Trademark
- Written or creative work → Copyright
- Secret formula or method → Trade Secret
Understanding which form of protection applies to your work is critical.
You can learn more or file directly through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Get Help—There Are Free Resources for This
Here is something the legal world does not advertise loudly enough: you do not always need thousands of dollars upfront to get started.
The USPTO Patent Pro Bono Program connects under-resourced inventors with volunteer patent attorneys who provide free legal assistance.
Many law school IP clinics also help people file applications under faculty supervision.
If you qualify, these resources can be game-changing.
You Do Not Have to Be a Scientist to Be an Inventor
One of my favorite things to say—and I will say it every chance I get—is this:
Invention is not just a STEM thing.
Sara Blakely invented Spanx. She was not an engineer. She was a woman who cut the feet off her pantyhose before a party and thought, Wait, this could be a product.
She later became the world’s first self-made female billionaire.
Invention is simply noticing a problem and solving it.
It happens in fashion, education, food, finance, healthcare, and every other industry imaginable. If you have ever thought, There has to be a better way to do this, you are already thinking like an inventor.
The only difference between you and a patent holder is paperwork.
Here Is Where We Change the Statistic Together
That 13% number is not destiny. It is a data point—and one we are actively working to change.
I founded inventHERS because I believe the issue is not a talent gap. It is a visibility gap and an access gap.
Girls and women are not seeing themselves as inventors because no one has consistently shown them the path. So we are building the path:
- Through clubs where girls take inventions from idea to pitch
- Through curriculum that makes invention accessible to every student, regardless of ZIP code
- Through content that highlights women inventors across every field and background
And through articles like this one.
Because the women reading this? You are exactly who the world needs in the invention space.
You are builders. You are problem-solvers. You are—whether you have claimed the title yet or not—inventors.
So here is my challenge to you:
Think of one idea you have had. A process you created. A product you imagined. A solution you built.
Write it down today. Date it. Search it.
And if it is yours, protect it.
The world needs your invention. Let’s make it official.
Madeline Stoddard is the founder of inventHERS, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the next generation of female inventors through content, clubs, curriculum, and community. She is a 15-year STEM educator, former lead educator for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, and a PhD candidate in transdisciplinary education at University of South Florida.
Learn more at inventHERS.org.
