From left: Korekiyo Takahashi, Louis Foreman, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla

May 11. What do Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Korekiyo Takahashi, Thomas Jefferson, US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Cornelius resident Louis Foreman have in common?

Hint: They’re among fewer than 100 people worldwide, living and dead, who have this particular honor in common.

Patents.

Takahashi said it best during a visit to the US Patent and Trademark Office in the early 1880s: “We have asked, ‘What is it that makes the United States such a great nation?’ and found that it was patents, and so we will have patents.”

Cornelius resident Foreman, CEO of Enventys Partners in Charlotte, will be inducted into the Intellectual Property Hall of Fame in Chicago on June 13, alongside Justice Breyer, Pravin Anand, leader of one of India’s leading intellectual property attorneys, and James Malackowski, a pioneer of IP transactions and strategic patent consulting.

Entrepreneur’s entrepreneur

“As an entrepreneur I quickly recognized the inherent value of intellectual property as an incentive to innovate. Intellectual property has been the catalyst that enabled my companies to raise capital, hire employees, and attract customers,” Foreman said.

Foreman said he was shocked to learn of his induction—he had no idea who nominated him for the honor.

Each year, inductees are chosen by members of the IP Hall of Fame Academy, which comprises individuals already inducted into the IP Hall of Fame and other IP leaders.

Dozens of patents

Foreman holds more than a dozen patents and his company, Enventys, has helped with the development and monetization of hundreds more. He also teaches entrepreneurship and innovation at Wake Forest University and Queens.

Eventys is a leader in product development, crowdfunding and e-commerce company, based in Charlotte. The company helps clients take their consumer product “from napkin sketch to production,” with support that includes crowdfunding and e-commerce marketing to test market demand, find additional funds and turn it into a commercial success.