Three students. Patent-pending. Fully funded.
Most young inventors never get to own what they make. The patent process is expensive, confusing, and built for adults with lawyers. This summer, we're changing that for three of them.
The Edison Scholarship is Born to Invent's inaugural award: a full ride through Patent Prep's patent-pending program for three students with an idea or invention worth protecting. No cost. Expert guidance. Real ownership of what you built.
We're not looking for the best grades. We're looking for the best ideas — and the students determined enough to protect them.
A full ride. The whole thing.
The Edison Scholarship is a full ride — every recipient goes through Patent Prep's patent-pending program at no cost, guided from a raw idea all the way to a filed patent application.
Full funding
Patent Prep's patent-pending program, the entire cost, covered.
Expert coaching
Through the pro se filing process, so you prepare and file on your own behalf with guidance at every step.
A path to patent-pending status
On your own invention. Real, documented ownership of what you made.
Recognition
As an inaugural Edison Scholar, part of the first class of a national award.
This is not a discount or a partial award. It's the whole thing, for three students.
For students with something worth protecting.
The Edison Scholarship is open to students with an idea or invention worth protecting. You don't need a finished prototype. You don't need perfect grades. You need something real — a solution to a problem, an invention you've built or sketched, an idea you believe deserves to be yours.
- You have an original idea or invention you want to protect.
- You can explain what problem it solves and why it's new.
- You're a middle or high school student.
- You're ready to do the work — the scholarship funds the program, but you file it.
Students who've come through the Invention Lab or a Young Inventors of America chapter are especially encouraged to apply — but you don't have to be part of either. This is open to any young inventor with something worth protecting.
Thomas Edison held over a thousand patents. But he didn't start as a famous inventor — he started as a curious kid who made things.
The Edison Scholarship exists because the next great inventor is already out there, building something in a garage or a classroom right now. We want to help them own it before the world catches up.
Three steps. Three scholars.
Apply
Tell us about your idea or invention and why it's worth protecting. Applications close AUG 15, 2026.
We review
Every application is read by our selection panel. We're looking for originality, real-world value, and the conviction behind the idea.
Three are chosen
Three inaugural Edison Scholars are announced SEPTEMBER 1, 2026, and begin Patent Prep's patent-pending program this summer.
The Edison Scholarship covers the full cost of Patent Prep's patent-pending program for three recipients. "Filing a patent application" refers to the application process and does not guarantee a granted patent. Recipients file pro se (on their own behalf) with expert coaching. Applicants under 18 must have parent or guardian consent.