Boy wonder
Five-year-old
Samuel Houghton, the world's youngest inventor.According to reports gathered from the Guardian News it was published that he was
granted a patent for his Improved Broom, which he came up with at the
age of three. Patrick Barkham meets a little lad with big ideas
Samuel Houghton with his 'improved broom'. Photograph: Fabio de Paola
'Raaa! Neeeeaaaa-oooowww!" Benjamin, the three-year-old brother
of Britain's youngest inventor, Samuel Houghton charges towards me with
his brother's brainwave. Two wooden broomsticks tied together with a
rubber band could be dangerous, but Samuel quickly restores order to
their parents' living room in Buxton, Derbyshire.
He then takes hold of the microphone I have brought to record this interview, clasps it to his chest and spends 40 minutes explaining how he devised his invention, what else he is planning to invent and what would happen if inventors like him took over the world.
The UK Intellectual Property Office's patent No 2438091 this month recorded Samuel as the inventor of the Improved Broom. It is a simple idea that combines two ordinary brooms with different-sized bristles and brush-heads to enable different-sized specks of dirt to be swept up more efficiently. "The small one gets the first bits and the one at the back gets the bits that are left behind," as Samuel puts it. The IPO does not note down the ages of the inventors awarded patents, but says that Samuel is its youngest known patent holder. He was three when he came up with the idea.
"I got it when my dad was brushing up," he says. "He was doing the leaves and I asked him why he was using different brushes and then I went into the garage and invented. Then I called Daddy to go into the shed and then I said, 'why swap the brushes when you can use this?' and that was my invention. Later I said 'it's an invention' because I heard 'invention' from Wallace and Gromit and Archie the Inventor."
As the patent records: "Acknowledgement of the inspiration to invent and the ability to identify an invention, and announce it as such, is hereby given to Archie the Inventor of Balamory." Samuel rates cartoon inventor Archie above Wallace and Gromit: "In Archie the Inventor he's in Balamory, and Balamory is a real place, and Wallace and Gromit are just made-up inventors," he explains.
Samuel, of course, did not submit the patent for his invention. It was drawn up by his dad, Mark, a former industrial chemist who retrained as a patent attorney: an intellectual property law specialist who takes an inventor's basic idea, explains the inventive aspects of it and wins a patent, proving the idea is unique and giving the inventor control over it for 20 years.
Mark has obtained patents for 56 different products so far, mostly relating to aspects of industrial chemistry, as well as the broom. "When I wrote it up, I drew out the various aspects of it," explains Mark, before Samuel breaks in: "People said it was done before and Daddy said, 'see for yourself' and they couldn't find anybody."
The IPO rigorously challenges inventions to test whether they are unique and have a clear purpose. "We managed to rebut their assertions," says Mark. "It's been validated through the official channels as being officially new, as having merit and now it's got legal protection for 20 years. Anybody can say 'my children invent something every day' but it's another matter to prove it and go through that process."
Cynics might assume this is all a publicity stunt to promote Mark's work as a patent attorney. But he and his wife, Susan, a special-needs teacher, are not attention-seekers. Mark works for a big company - which he doesn't name - that only represents business clients. He tells me that although people might think there is big money in patents, inventors rarely see their patents become manufactured products. "Patenting is a negative right," says Mark. "It stops other people from doing things." It only tends to turn a profit if it enables companies "to have a head start on their competitors".
Would they like to find a manufacturer to get the Improved Broom made and sold? "It would be nice if we did, but we are doing this to help Samuel learn, help him understand a little bit about innovation," says Mark.
"No," corrects Samuel. "I did it to help Daddy."
What the Houghtons hope is that Samuel's invention will encourage more inventive thinking in schools.
Since his first invention, Samuel has also discovered that a child's trumpet makes an improved plug for his bath, because he can pull it out himself, unlike the existing plug. "Where did you make your other invention?" prompts Mark. "It's not an invention," says Samuel. "It was just using something for a different thing."
Samuel believes the best kind of inventions are "cleaning ones". He wants to produce practical things that will help people. But he is cautious about inventors' abilities to improve our world. "Yes, they can make places better, but if there are too many inventions things might go wrong 'cos there could be a four-brushes invention," he warns.
It's not just self-interest, however, that causes Samuel to worry about uncontrolled inventiveness. "If there are too many inventions it goes silly and the world might go crazy,"
He then takes hold of the microphone I have brought to record this interview, clasps it to his chest and spends 40 minutes explaining how he devised his invention, what else he is planning to invent and what would happen if inventors like him took over the world.
The UK Intellectual Property Office's patent No 2438091 this month recorded Samuel as the inventor of the Improved Broom. It is a simple idea that combines two ordinary brooms with different-sized bristles and brush-heads to enable different-sized specks of dirt to be swept up more efficiently. "The small one gets the first bits and the one at the back gets the bits that are left behind," as Samuel puts it. The IPO does not note down the ages of the inventors awarded patents, but says that Samuel is its youngest known patent holder. He was three when he came up with the idea.
"I got it when my dad was brushing up," he says. "He was doing the leaves and I asked him why he was using different brushes and then I went into the garage and invented. Then I called Daddy to go into the shed and then I said, 'why swap the brushes when you can use this?' and that was my invention. Later I said 'it's an invention' because I heard 'invention' from Wallace and Gromit and Archie the Inventor."
As the patent records: "Acknowledgement of the inspiration to invent and the ability to identify an invention, and announce it as such, is hereby given to Archie the Inventor of Balamory." Samuel rates cartoon inventor Archie above Wallace and Gromit: "In Archie the Inventor he's in Balamory, and Balamory is a real place, and Wallace and Gromit are just made-up inventors," he explains.
Samuel, of course, did not submit the patent for his invention. It was drawn up by his dad, Mark, a former industrial chemist who retrained as a patent attorney: an intellectual property law specialist who takes an inventor's basic idea, explains the inventive aspects of it and wins a patent, proving the idea is unique and giving the inventor control over it for 20 years.
Mark has obtained patents for 56 different products so far, mostly relating to aspects of industrial chemistry, as well as the broom. "When I wrote it up, I drew out the various aspects of it," explains Mark, before Samuel breaks in: "People said it was done before and Daddy said, 'see for yourself' and they couldn't find anybody."
The IPO rigorously challenges inventions to test whether they are unique and have a clear purpose. "We managed to rebut their assertions," says Mark. "It's been validated through the official channels as being officially new, as having merit and now it's got legal protection for 20 years. Anybody can say 'my children invent something every day' but it's another matter to prove it and go through that process."
Cynics might assume this is all a publicity stunt to promote Mark's work as a patent attorney. But he and his wife, Susan, a special-needs teacher, are not attention-seekers. Mark works for a big company - which he doesn't name - that only represents business clients. He tells me that although people might think there is big money in patents, inventors rarely see their patents become manufactured products. "Patenting is a negative right," says Mark. "It stops other people from doing things." It only tends to turn a profit if it enables companies "to have a head start on their competitors".
Would they like to find a manufacturer to get the Improved Broom made and sold? "It would be nice if we did, but we are doing this to help Samuel learn, help him understand a little bit about innovation," says Mark.
"No," corrects Samuel. "I did it to help Daddy."
What the Houghtons hope is that Samuel's invention will encourage more inventive thinking in schools.
Since his first invention, Samuel has also discovered that a child's trumpet makes an improved plug for his bath, because he can pull it out himself, unlike the existing plug. "Where did you make your other invention?" prompts Mark. "It's not an invention," says Samuel. "It was just using something for a different thing."
Samuel believes the best kind of inventions are "cleaning ones". He wants to produce practical things that will help people. But he is cautious about inventors' abilities to improve our world. "Yes, they can make places better, but if there are too many inventions things might go wrong 'cos there could be a four-brushes invention," he warns.
It's not just self-interest, however, that causes Samuel to worry about uncontrolled inventiveness. "If there are too many inventions it goes silly and the world might go crazy,"
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