Young Inventor

The United States government helps protect an inventor's rights to a new invention. It gives the inventor a special document called a patent. The patent says that only the inventor is permitted to produce and sell the device. Akhil Rastogi has become one of the youngest people to receive an American patent.

Akhil lives in the state of Virginia. He is 12 years old. And he is very creative. Last December 1992, he received a patent for a special device he made that helps people pour liquid from heavy containers. The device is added on to the opening of the container. It permits a person to move the container just a little to get the liquid to pour out.

Akhil calls his invention E-Z gallon. He says that when he was seven years old his mother hurt her hand. She could not pour milk from big milk bottles. He was too small to help. That difficult situation led him to create something that would make it easier to pour from heavy containers. Akhil's pouring device is made from clay. He says he hopes to sell his device to the public.