Eligibility:
Iowa students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible to participate in Invent Iowa. A maximum of two students are permitted credit for an invention.

Registration:
Application packets must include the completed application form, one copy of the Official State Invention Convention Inventor’s Log, and a videotaped presentation. All contents of the packet will remain the property of the Invent Iowa state office; claims to ownership of the invention, however, are retained solely by the inventor(s). Completed registration packets should be sent to the address on the application form. All packets must be RECEIVED NO LATER than Wednesday, February 27, 2008.

Inventions:
Inventions must be a new product or a new application of an existing product and must be the original work of the student(s). Each invention must be described fully, be represented by an informational display, and be characterized by either a model or working prototype.

Inventor’s Journal and Official State Invention Convention Log:
In their efforts to establish proof that they were the “first to invent,” inventors generally maintain a journal of their creative and practical efforts. As one patent agent stated, “What is needed is evidence of conception, followed by evidence of diligence. An inventor's notebook, if witnessed regularly by someone other than the inventor, is one way of generating that evidence.” (David Kiewit, Registered Patent Agent, InventNet listserve: The Inventors Meeting Place, October 25, 1998). The journal generally includes notes about all ideas that are considered—even the ones that are rejected, about possible solutions, materials, plans, timelines, and research information about similar products. Some inventors even attach dated receipts as proof of the dates of research activity.

Each application packet must include an Official State Invention Convention Log. In some ways, this journal will serve the same purpose as the professional Provisional Application for Patent (PPA) required by the United States Patent and Trade Office. The Log is a professional-looking summary of the most important information from your journal and needs to include the following:

• inventor name(s)
• inventor residence(s)
• title of the invention
• a written description of the invention
• any drawings necessary to understand the invention
  (Provisional Patent Application Information. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm)