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Lion lights are devices designed to scare away lions from a set perimeter in order to protect cattle and other herd animals. [1] [2]
Lion lights were invented by Richard Turere, designed to prevent night attacks by lions on his family's cattle. These types of attacks often lead to the hunting and killing of the lions, which further harm their already endangered population. [3]
Excessive poaching has taken its toll on the lion population. In Kenya, lion numbers plummeted from 15,000 to 2,500 within two decades, placing lions on a path to extinction. Due to a loss of habitat, the predators turn to livestock for prey. This leads to even more predators being killed. [4]
Turere began taking care of his father's cattle at the age of nine. [5] Determined to find a solution to this problem that would benefit both local farmers and wildlife, Turere started experimenting with lighting fires, kerosene lamps, and scarecrows, although "none of them worked because predators are clever." [5] Turere noticed that the lions did not attack when people were present, and he theorized that they were deterred by moving torchlight. Therefore, Turere placed LED lights [6] around the perimeter of his family's cow shed, connected them to vehicle indicator flashers, and powered the system from car batteries charged by a solar panel. The lion attacks ceased and soon neighbours were asking for him to set up similar systems around their farms. [6] This invention became the driving force behind Turere's creation of the Lion Lights system.
"I developed a sequence of intermittently flashing lights that continuously changed over time, thereby deceiving the lions into believing that someone was traversing the area with a flashlight. Thanks to my invention, our weekly loss of three cows was entirely eradicated," Turere said to WIPO Magazine. [5]
Based on this invention, Turere won a scholarship to Brookhouse School. [6]
Turere and his Lion Lights also made the final three for the Young Inventors Prize at the 2023 European Inventor Award. [7] He came in first, winning the main trophy and €20,000 to help with his work. [8] [9] [10] [11]
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights.
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an idea is unique enough either as a stand-alone invention or as a significant improvement over the work of others, it can be patented. A patent, if granted, gives the inventor a proprietary interest in the patent over a specific period of time, which can be licensed for financial gain.
The African buffalo is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. There are five subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the nominotypical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern Africa and East Africa. S. c. nanus is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central Africa and West Africa, while S. c. brachyceros is in West Africa and S. c. aequinoctialis is in the savannas of East Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to as a "boss".
Prior art is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. In most systems of patent law, prior art is generally defined as anything that is made available, or disclosed, to the public that might be relevant to a patent's claim before the effective filing date of a patent application for an invention. However, notable differences exist in how prior art is specifically defined under different national, regional, and international patent systems.
Shuji Nakamura is a Japanese-American electronic engineer and inventor of the blue LED, a major breakthrough in lighting technology. Nakamura specializes in the field of semiconductor technology, and he is a professor of materials science at the College of Engineering of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
In most patent laws, unity of invention is a formal administrative requirement that must be met for a patent application to proceed to grant. An issued patent can claim only one invention or a group of closely related inventions. The purpose of this requirement is administrative as well as financial. The requirement serves to preclude the possibility of filing one patent application for several inventions, while paying only one set of fees. Unity of invention also makes the classification of patent documents easier.
A patent family is a set of patents or patent applications in various countries in relation to a single invention, for example when a first application in a country – the priority application – is extended to other countries. In other words, a patent family is "the same invention disclosed by a common inventor(s) and patented in more than one country." Patent families can be regarded as a "fortuitous by-product of the concept of priorities for patent applications".
A utility model is a patent-like intellectual property right to protect inventions. This type of right is available in many countries but, notably, not in the United States, United Kingdom or Canada. Although a utility model is similar to a patent, it is generally cheaper to obtain and maintain, has a shorter term, shorter grant lag, and less stringent patentability requirements. In some countries, it is only available for inventions in certain fields of technology and/or only for products. Utility models can be described as second-class patents.
A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and related correspondence. It is the combination of the document and its processing within the administrative and legal framework of the patent office.
This is a list of legal terms relating to patents and patent law. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention claimed therein, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or their successor in rights in exchange to a public disclosure of the invention.
A cowbell is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are typically referred to as "cow bells" due to their extensive use with cattle, the bells are used on a wide variety of animals.
Double patenting is the granting of two patents for a single invention, to the same proprietor and in the same country or countries. According to the European Patent Office, it is an accepted principle in most patent systems that two patents cannot be granted to the same applicant for one invention. However, the threshold for double patenting varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators.
The International Federation of Inventors' Associations (IFIA) is a non-profit, nongovernmental organization founded in London under the supervision of the United Nations, on July 11, 1968, by inventor's associations of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
The European Inventor Award, are presented annually by the European Patent Office, sometimes supported by the respective Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the European Commission, to inventors who have made a significant contribution to innovation, economy and society, predominantly in Europe. Inventions from all technological fields are considered for this award. The winners in each category are presented with an award shaped like a sail. There is no cash prize associated with the award, however there is a cash prize for all 3 of the Young Inventors Prize finalists.
Gjorgji Filipov is a Macedonian diplomat. In 2014 he is the Ambassador of Macedonia in Vienna, Austria as well as Ambassador of Macedonia to Japan and Slovakia. He was founder and first director of the Macedonian State Office of Industrial property from. He holds a PhD in the field of Industrial Property. The title of the doctoral thesis was:"Industrial Property as an Indicator for Technological Development“.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to patents:
Human–lion conflict refers to the pattern of problematic interactions between native people and lions. Conflict with humans is a major contributor of the decline in lion populations in Africa. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to conversion of land for agriculture has forced lions to live in closer proximity to human settlements. As a result, conflict is often characterized by lions preying upon livestock, known as livestock depredation. When depredation events take place, farmers suffer financial losses and lions face threats of retaliatory killing.
Lyubov Yablochnik was a Soviet and Russian veterinary microbiologist.