Comments on: Obscure Patent: The Beerbrella http://ipwatchdog.com/2008/04/10/obscure-patent-the-beerbrella/id=146/ Patents, Patent Applications, Patent Law Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:11:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: robertplattbell http://ipwatchdog.com/2008/04/10/obscure-patent-the-beerbrella/id=146/#comment-216 robertplattbell Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:49:01 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2008/04/10/obscure-patent-the-beerbrella/#comment-216 What was scary about writing and filing this Patent was that there were about five (5) other close Prior Art references found by the Examiner (that my quick online search missed). So the overall concept was not only not novel, it was tried many times - and has yet to be succesfully marketed by anyone. I received a number of calls about it, though.... What catapulted this Patent to Internet fame (I have lost track of the number of websites, magazines, books, and even TV shows that have featured or mentioned it) was the trademark BEERBRELLA, which I modesly admit was my innovation (incredibly, this invention took three people to come up with, but there was beer involved, you see). The Patent has since expired, so the idea is in the public domain AFAIK. By the way, with the issuance of this Patent, I am now listed in the database of the USPTO as an Examiner, a Patent Attorney, and now an Inventor as well. I wonder how may others have made this trifecta. What was scary about writing and filing this Patent was that there were about five (5) other close Prior Art references found by the Examiner (that my quick online search missed). So the overall concept was not only not novel, it was tried many times – and has yet to be succesfully marketed by anyone. I received a number of calls about it, though….

What catapulted this Patent to Internet fame (I have lost track of the number of websites, magazines, books, and even TV shows that have featured or mentioned it) was the trademark BEERBRELLA, which I modesly admit was my innovation (incredibly, this invention took three people to come up with, but there was beer involved, you see).

The Patent has since expired, so the idea is in the public domain AFAIK.

By the way, with the issuance of this Patent, I am now listed in the database of the USPTO as an Examiner, a Patent Attorney, and now an Inventor as well. I wonder how may others have made this trifecta.

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