Amid the prolonged recession, more people are trying their hand at inventing in the hope of making a fast fortune.
However, the surplus of new inventions has also seen an increase in the number of people trying to rip off inventors' ideas.
To address this problem, the Japan Women Inventors Association has been holding seminars on how to fill out patent requests and specifications, helping inventors to avoid having their ideas stolen by large firms.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.