Theme: Homemade: Is Greenville Still Ripe for Invention?

Greenville has a history of being home for some of the greatest inventions in the world. The maser as conceived by Charles Townes, the six pack packaging machine as created by Hartness, the 3D printer as developed by Bill Masters, and the many creations from Milliken, GE, BMW, and Michelin.

Does Greenville still have its inventing MOJO? Do we continue to be the home for some of the greatest innovation and product designs in the world? Do we foster creativity and enourage our inventors? Is Greenville still a mecca for invention and inventors?

The October TEDxGreenvilleSalon looks at these issues through the voices of two advocates and experts on our innovation environment.

ZEN
924 S. Main Street
Greenville, South Carolina, 29601
United States

Doug Kim

Intellectual Property Attorney, McNair Law Firm

Doug Kim heads the Intellectual Property Group of McNair and concentrates on counseling companies concerning the protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property (IP) rights. Doug also assists in developing Intellectual Property (IP) protection strategies for new ventures as well as established international companies with the goal of enhancing IP portfolios to increase company worth. His experience not only includes developing IP development strategies, but also management and protection of IP by assisting in the development of IP protection plans to complement an IP portfolio. Doug combines his business experience and legal experience in patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights and trade secrets to assist clients in a comprehensive and integrated IP protection program to build intellectual capital for his clients.

Jerry Barber

Inventor and Founder, Barber WindTurbines

Jerry Barber started, owned, and operated the second largest amusement ride manufacturing company in the United States for eighteen years, inventing over thirty-eight U.S. patents, twenty-two of which were produced commercially. In addition to amusement rides, his patents cover a variety of fields from military to child safety. His most widely known patent, the "Free Fall' amusement ride can be found in almost every amusement park and large carnival worldwide. Since 2009, Mr. Barber's new concept for wind turbine design has ten U.S. patents issued, three U.S. patents pending, and twenty-three international patents pending. He is currently working closely with Georgia Tech to move the engineering to the next level for the BarberWind design. To date, he has over 50 U.S. patents.