NEW YORK (AP) - GE says it is licensing thousands of patents to Quirky, a New York City startup that lets people collaborate on designing household products and brings them to stores.
General Electric Co. said Wednesday that it is opening its "most promising" patents and new technologies to Quirky's community of inventors to develop new consumer products. In another venture called Wink: Instantly Connected, GE and Quirky will work together to launch a new line of household products that are connected to apps.
Quirky lets people submit inventions that range from kitchen tools to power strips to bathroom accessories. The company develops them from sketches to the final product. Quirky keeps the rights to the products and the inventors and Quirky members who gave input on the design get royalties.
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Online: http://www.quirky.com/ge