Last Modified on October 09, 2026
What happens when two young inventors turn a classroom problem into an award-winning invention? Lily Oppenheim and Brynn Gallagher found a creative solution to two common school distractions: spilled water bottles and lost pencils. Their invention, the Suppy Water Bottle, uses a suction cup to help secure a water bottle to a desk while also providing a place to hold a pencil.
On the Bold Inventor Show, patent attorney J.D. Houvener and trademark attorney Matt Kulseth welcomed Lily and Brynn to discuss their invention, their experience at the National Innovation Challenge, and their plans for improving the product. Their story offers practical lessons for inventors, entrepreneurs, and business owners about problem-solving, teamwork, branding, product development, and intellectual property.
Bold Inventor Show: Lily and Brynn’s Suppy Water Bottle
Welcome to the Bold Inventor Show
J.D. Houvener: Welcome, everybody, to the Bold Inventor Show! I’m excited to be here with all of you. I’m joined by my co-host, Matt Kulseth.
Matt Kulseth: Good day to you! Hello, hello, hello.
J.D. Houvener: I’m J.D. Houvener, owner and founder of Bold Patents. We’re attorneys talking about intellectual property. I’m a patent attorney, and Matt is a trademark attorney. We cover everything in the world of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Today, we have a really exciting episode. We’re joined by two young inventors who won the National Innovation Challenge. It’s an honor to have them on the show, and we’re looking forward to hearing their story.
Before we begin, a quick reminder: we’re attorneys, but this is a public broadcast, not a confidential discussion. Please don’t share confidential information. We’ll provide general legal information, and you’re welcome to ask questions.
A Quick Intellectual Property Q&A
Before bringing our guests on, J.D. and Matt answered four questions from the community about patents, trademarks, and intellectual property.
J.D. Houvener: Our first question is about a patent that gets issued with the inventor’s name misspelled. Does that invalidate the entire patent?
Thankfully, a misspelling doesn’t automatically invalidate a patent. In some circumstances, the error can be corrected through a certificate of correction. The appropriate approach depends on the nature of the mistake and the circumstances surrounding it.
Matt Kulseth: Trademark mistakes can also cause problems. I once handled an application where a name was spelled slightly differently from the way it appeared on the proof of use. Fortunately, the difference was minor enough that we were able to amend the application.
It’s a good reminder to double-check the details before filing.
J.D. Houvener: Our next question comes from an Etsy seller who wants to protect a phrase they plan to use on a product. They want to know how to signal that a trademark application is pending.
Matt Kulseth: You can use the TM symbol to indicate that you’re claiming a trademark in a name or phrase, even if it isn’t registered. Once the mark is registered, you can use the ® symbol in accordance with the applicable rules. Remember that filing an application doesn’t guarantee registration or create every right that a registered trademark provides.
J.D. Houvener: The third question concerns exclusive versus non-exclusive patent licensing.
A patent generally gives its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing the patented invention, subject to the applicable law. A license allows another party to exercise specified rights under agreed terms.
With an exclusive license, the agreement gives one licensee exclusive rights within the defined scope. With a non-exclusive license, the patent owner can generally license the same rights to multiple parties.
Inventors considering an exclusive agreement should pay close attention to performance requirements. What happens if the licensee signs the agreement but never brings the product to market? The contract should address what happens in that situation.
Matt Kulseth: The same general concept applies to trademark licensing. An exclusive arrangement limits who can use the brand within the agreed scope, while a non-exclusive arrangement can allow multiple parties to use it.
These are contractual arrangements, so it’s worth working with an attorney experienced in licensing agreements.
Matt Kulseth: Our final question is about logo designers. If you create a logo for a business, can you charge a one-time fee, or can you receive royalties on each product sold?
The answer depends on the agreement. You can negotiate a one-time payment, royalties, or another compensation arrangement.
Typically, when a business hires someone to create a logo, the parties should clearly document who owns the intellectual property rights. A work-made-for-hire arrangement or an appropriate written assignment may be relevant, depending on the circumstances.
A business hiring a logo designer should make sure the agreement clearly addresses ownership, usage rights, and any portfolio-display permissions. It’s also wise to discuss when the designer can publicly reveal the logo so the announcement doesn’t spoil a planned product launch.
J.D. Houvener: Exactly. Imagine spending months preparing for a big product reveal, only to have your logo posted online before you’re ready!
All right, we’ve covered our four questions. Now it’s time to meet our guests.
Meet Lily and Brynn, the Young Inventors Behind Suppy
J.D. Houvener: Before we bring them on, we have a video that Lily and Brynn put together to showcase their product. Let’s take a look.
[The show plays the girls’ product video, introducing the Suppy Water Bottle and demonstrating how it attaches to a desk to help prevent spills and distractions.]
J.D. Houvener: That was fantastic! Welcome to the show, Lily and Brynn. The video was great, and I loved the special effects.
Lily and Brynn: Thank you!
J.D. Houvener: I’d love to start with your inspiration. What got you thinking about water bottles? Was there a spill that started the whole thing?
Lily and Brynn: The day before we started figuring out the problem we wanted to solve, someone’s water bottle fell over. Everybody had to stop what they were doing and clean up the water.
When we went to our invention class, we thought we should make something that solves that problem. We came up with the idea of making a water bottle that sticks to your desk.
We added a suction cup, but we noticed that some existing designs were complicated for adults to open and use. We wanted something easier.
Then we noticed that people were also losing their pencils, which was another distraction. We found a little pencil grip that fit well, attached it to the water bottle, and created a place to hold the pencil, too.
J.D. Houvener: So it’s a two-in-one solution. It helps secure the bottle to the desk and keeps the pencil in place. And, of course, you can still drink the water!
I love this invention. It looks great, too.
Lily and Brynn: Thank you!
Choosing the Materials and Testing the Design
J.D. Houvener: Who picked out the colors for the water bottle?
Lily: I used one of my own water bottles. We first tried using a plastic bottle, but the suction cup wasn’t staying on. I thought maybe we should try a different material, so we switched to a metal bottle.
J.D. Houvener: Oh, so it’s metal! That’s great, especially for people who prefer not to drink from plastic bottles. Is it insulated, too?
Lily and Brynn: Yes.
J.D. Houvener: Very cool. Now, can you walk us through the creative process? Did you try anything that didn’t work before finding the right solution?
Lily and Brynn: We spent about three weeks trying to attach the suction cup. We tried Scotch tape, different kinds of glue, glue sticks, string, and even hammering it down.
We also tried Gorilla Glue. It didn’t work the first time with the plastic water bottle, but it worked with the metal bottle.
J.D. Houvener: Interesting! Do you think the temperature made a difference?
Lily and Brynn: We put it in a mini fridge because we thought that might help it dry or set. We aren’t completely sure whether that made the difference or whether it was just because we let it sit.
J.D. Houvener: That’s an interesting observation. How long did you wait before testing it?
Lily and Brynn: Twenty-four hours.
J.D. Houvener: That’s a long time to wait when you’re excited to test an invention! Who was the one trying to pull the suction cup off?
Lily and Brynn: We tested it at home by putting it on a table and trying to lift it. It popped off a couple of times, so we added more glue and let it sit longer. Then it worked.
J.D. Houvener: You were experimenting, testing, finding problems, and improving your design. That’s what inventors do.
You even tested whether a cat could knock it over before the competition!
Lily and Brynn: Yes! We put it on the table, and the cat tried to knock it over. It didn’t work.
J.D. Houvener: That’s a pretty good test. Cats are known for knocking things off tables!
From a Classroom Project to an Invention Competition
J.D. Houvener: Tell us about the invention convention. What was that experience like?
Lily and Brynn: It was really cool and exciting, but also intimidating. We saw everybody else’s inventions, and it was a little scary to see what we were competing against.
There were so many cool ideas. One invention involved holders for shampoo bottles that used suction cups to attach to a bathroom wall.
J.D. Houvener: Were all the participants young inventors?
Lily and Brynn: Yes. I think it included students from third grade through twelfth grade.
J.D. Houvener: That’s wonderful. You were competing with students of different ages, and you found a solution to a problem that affects classrooms everywhere.
How did you first get involved in inventing?
Lily and Brynn: We were part of a gifted and talented program. They held an invention event at Wolfpit Elementary School in Connecticut, and we worked together as partners.
It took us about a week to brainstorm before we settled on the water bottle. We considered other ideas, including waterproof folders, but we found that something similar already existed.
We thought the water bottle was the most important problem to solve because learning is important, and spilled water bottles are a common problem. Losing pencils is common, too.
J.D. Houvener: That’s a great example of choosing a problem that matters to the people who experience it.
Teamwork: How Two Inventors Work Together
J.D. Houvener: We work with adult inventors, and sometimes even co-inventors have trouble agreeing. Did you two have any disagreements while working on Suppy?
Lily and Brynn: Yes! It was sometimes hard to decide on little things, like colors or what to include on our poster board explaining how the invention works.
J.D. Houvener: That’s completely normal. Working through those differences is an important part of teamwork.
Lily and Brynn: Whenever we disagreed, we usually combined our two ideas to come up with something together. We really liked being able to solve both problems with one invention.
J.D. Houvener: That’s a valuable lesson for inventors of any age. You don’t have to agree on everything to work well together. Sometimes the best solution comes from combining two different ideas.
How Suppy Got Its Name
Matt Kulseth: I work with trademark registration and litigation, so I want to hear about the brand. Where did the name Suppy come from?
Lily and Brynn: We combined the words “suction cup” and “sippy cup.” We wanted a catchy name that described the product in a fun way.
Matt Kulseth: I love that! It’s a combination of two words that explain what the product does.
Was it difficult to come up with the name?
Lily and Brynn: At first, we thought about using something that described us, or just finding a catchy name. Then one day, we were talking about a suction cup and a sippy cup, and we decided to combine them.
Matt Kulseth: That’s a clever approach to branding. One thing I often tell clients is to think beyond simply naming a product after what it is.
A name that merely describes the product can be difficult to protect as a trademark. A distinctive name can help customers identify the source of a product rather than just its features.
Suppy is memorable because it combines the ideas of suction and a sippy cup in a new way. Great job!
Lily and Brynn: Thank you!
Winning the National Innovation Challenge
J.D. Houvener: The National Innovation Challenge is one of the reasons we first heard about you. What was it like to compete at the national level?
Lily and Brynn: It was a little less scary because we’d already presented our invention to judges at the convention. We’re also good at making presentations using Canva, so we had fun putting everything together.
We animated our presentation to make it more interesting and eye-catching.
J.D. Houvener: I heard you also used role-playing in your presentation. Tell us about that.
Lily and Brynn: One of us played a student, and the other explained how the invention worked. Instead of just standing there and answering questions, we made it interactive and fun.
We still answered all the questions, but we presented them in a way that could catch people’s attention and make the invention more interesting.
J.D. Houvener: That’s a fantastic lesson for anyone pitching an invention. You’re not just explaining a product; you’re showing people why it matters and helping them understand how it works.
You made the presentation engaging, and it sounds like that helped you stand out.
Could Suppy Become a Business?
J.D. Houvener: Have you talked about turning Suppy into a business?
Lily and Brynn: We think we want to! We were talking about it today. We have a great teacher who helps us with our invention projects, and it’s been a really fun experience.
We know there are still some things we need to improve. For example, we’d like to make the suction cup easier to remove, possibly by attaching it with a screw or using Velcro. That could also make the bottle easier to put in the dishwasher.
Right now, because the suction cup is attached with glue, the bottle needs to be hand-washed.
We’d also like to offer suction cups in different colors and explore more design options.
J.D. Houvener: Those are great ideas. A removable suction cup could make cleaning easier, and different colors could give customers more ways to customize their bottles.
You could even explore designs that allow people to mix and match parts.
Lily and Brynn: We want to make it work for kids of different ages, including high school students. We also think inventing can help people learn skills they’ll use in future jobs and become leaders.
J.D. Houvener: I can already hear that leadership in the way you talk about your invention. You’ve thought about the problem, tested different solutions, presented your work, and identified improvements. It’s been great hearing your story.
What Patent Protection Could Mean for Suppy
J.D. Houvener: Let me add a little intellectual property information here. If you’re interested in protecting Suppy, we’d be happy to discuss an initial evaluation with your family.
There are a couple of areas to consider. First, utility patent protection focuses on how an invention works. If your design includes a new and useful functional feature, such as a particular way of securing a bottle to a desk while also holding a pencil, that could be worth evaluating.
Second, a design patent focuses on the ornamental appearance of a product rather than its function. Depending on the design and the available protection, that might be another option to explore.
Lily and Brynn: That would be really fun and cool to do!
J.D. Houvener: We’d be happy to talk with you about it. Because you’re young inventors, we’d also need to involve your parents or guardians in any appropriate agreements and next steps.
For now, congratulations on what you’ve accomplished. It’s exciting to see young people identifying everyday problems and developing creative solutions.
A Shark Tank Pitch: What Inventors Can Learn From Ice Shaker
J.D. Houvener: Lily and Brynn, thanks again for sharing your story. If you can stay with us backstage, we’d love to get your thoughts on another water bottle invention.
We’re going to look at a Shark Tank pitch featuring Ice Shaker, a stainless-steel, insulated shaker bottle created by Christopher Gronkowski.
[The show plays a clip of Christopher Gronkowski pitching Ice Shaker on Shark Tank. In the clip, he discusses the problems with traditional shaker bottles, including leaks, breakage, and odors. He presents Ice Shaker as an insulated alternative and explains the company’s early sales, pricing, and retail opportunities.]
J.D. Houvener: What did you think of that pitch?
Matt Kulseth: The brand name is an interesting example. “Ice Shaker” describes what the product does, which can create challenges when seeking strong trademark protection.
Some descriptive marks may qualify for registration on the Supplemental Register if they meet the applicable requirements. Depending on how a mark is used and the evidence available, a business may later be able to pursue registration on the Principal Register.
It’s an example of why branding deserves attention early in product development.
J.D. Houvener: I agree. I also wanted to look at the patent side. Ice Shaker obtained a design patent covering aspects of the bottle’s appearance.
A design patent protects the ornamental design shown in its claims and drawings. It doesn’t provide ownership of every functional feature of a product. That distinction matters when deciding what kind of intellectual property protection might fit an invention.
For a product like Suppy, it could be worth evaluating both the functional aspects and the visual design. Which type of protection is appropriate depends on the invention, its features, and the relevant legal requirements.
Matt Kulseth: Exactly. It’s also worth remembering that inventors don’t have to wait until adulthood to start learning about intellectual property. Young inventors can be named as inventors on U.S. patents when the legal requirements are met.
J.D. Houvener: That’s right. You don’t have to be 18 to be an inventor. Lily and Brynn are a great example of how innovation can start early.
What Did Lily and Brynn Think of the Pitch?
J.D. Houvener: Let’s bring our guests back into the conversation. What stood out to you about the Ice Shaker pitch?
Lily and Brynn: We thought it was really cool that he brought his family into the presentation. His family seemed supportive throughout the process, and that reminded us of how supportive our own families have been while we’ve worked on Suppy.
J.D. Houvener: Family support can make a big difference. The pitch also showed how important it is to explain what makes your product different from the alternatives.
A good invention pitch should help people understand the problem, the solution, and why customers might choose your product over other options. Product features matter, but so do branding, marketing, and a clear presentation.
Lily and Brynn: We really liked seeing how his family worked together.
J.D. Houvener: That’s wonderful. And it’s been a pleasure seeing how the two of you have worked together, too. You identified a real problem, tested different ideas, and kept improving your invention.
Final Thoughts: Every Inventor Starts With a Problem
J.D. Houvener: Lily and Brynn, thank you again for joining the Bold Inventor Show and sharing the story behind Suppy. Congratulations on your achievement in the National Innovation Challenge!
Your experience is a reminder that inventing doesn’t have to start with a complicated idea. Sometimes it starts with a spilled water bottle, a missing pencil, or another everyday frustration.
You identified a problem, brainstormed solutions, tested materials, learned from failures, worked through disagreements, and developed a presentation to explain your product. Those are valuable skills for inventors and entrepreneurs at any age.
Matt Kulseth: And don’t forget the importance of a memorable brand. Suppy is a great example of how a little creativity can turn two familiar words into a name that helps people remember a product.
J.D. Houvener: Thanks to everyone who joined us, asked questions, and cheered on youth innovation. We’ll see you next week on the Bold Inventor Show.
Until then, go big, go bold, everybody!
Lily and Brynn: Bye!
