Posts Tagged: "Museum of Obscure Patents"

Apple, the company known for such popular devices as the iPad, iPhone and the iPod, has obtained a patent on a glove. Yes, the company known for pushing the envelope with high tech gadgets has entered the clothing market with a patented glove. Not just any glove mind you, but rather one that will be sure to help you keep your hands and fingers warm while still being able to use your favorite smart-gadgets. With respect to claim 1, I do wonder whether a double layer glove with a hole in the outer layer might be infringing, which of course would mean that it should have anticipated the claim.

Two months ago I wrote about one of my favorite patents — The Animal Toy — which is U.S. Patent No. 6,360,693. See Patent on a Stick: Learning from the Animal Toy Patent. Shortly after writing that article, which was not intended to poke fun at the Patent Office but to merely teach a point relative to claim drafting, I received an e-mail from Stephen Kunin, who is a partner at Oblon Spivak, LLP. Steve wrote to me indicating that this patent was reexamined by the Patent Office and none of the claims exited reexamination. This in and of itself may not be very odd, but something didn’t seem quite right.

The pardoning of the Presidential turkey caught my imagination as I was trying to figure out what holiday patents to profile for this Thanksgiving, something I always try and do whenever possible. So what better thing to focus on than on turkey patents, and there are many of them. I easily found multiple dozens of turkey callers and all kinds of turkey transportation devices used by hunters to carry their prey home, but these were the ones that really caught my attention for one reason or another.

Claim #1, the broadest claim in this patent, says that this “animal toy” has a solid main section, at least one protrusion and is adapted for floating in the water. While not every stick would infringe claim 1 of this patent, I would venture that there are many which would. No need to worry, however. This patent fell into the public domain on March 26, 2010, for failure to make the first maintenance fee payment. The lesson here, however, is not that the Patent Office occasionally makes a mistake (true though that may be). The fact that a patent can be obtained or has been obtained does not mean that a valuable asset has been obtained, and this “invention” is a wonderfully vibrant example of that.

Doll Urn United States Patent 7,627,935 Issued December 8, 2009 Filed February 5, 2009 This is straight from the “you have to be kidding me” file, and for more reasons than immediately are apparent simply by looking at the invention. This invention is a doll urn, which allows for the storing of a human’s or a pet’s ashes. The invention…

Disposable rainwear US Patent No. 6,658,665 Issued December 9, 2003 I have not been doing as many obscure patents as I once did, but I have been increasingly hearing from inventors that they miss this feature because humorous patents coupled with a story provide a good learning opportunity.  That being the case, I will try and write more about obscure…

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few recently granted patents and see some of the far more important inventions that are worthy of obtaining patent protection. Before I go any further allow me to point out that I am not trying to beat up on the Patent Office here, but rather to illustrate the complete and total reckless stupidity that is gripping the debate relating to whether we should allow software patents and business method patents. The Patent Office issues patents (again, hurray!) and they are not and should not engage in picking what subjectively warrants protection, KSR and the Supreme Court notwithstanding.

It is that time of the year for Americans to give thanks for all the many things we have and enjoy — family, friends, country and of course patents!  Here is hoping that everyone has a restful, peaceful and very Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving Embossed Insert for Baking Pan US Design Patent No. D527,217 Issued August 29, 2006

There are issued US patents for virtually ever occasion, and certainly for every holiday.  I like to try and profile holiday patents, which are always interesting if not outright funny at times.  So with no further ado, I give you some Halloween Patents!  Happy Halloween everyone, and safe trick-or-treating kids! Climate Adaptive Halloween Costume US Patent No. 6,904,612 Issued June…

Perhaps I am missing something, but I do not see a huge market for animal chastity belts. We have a dog, and we are dog lovers. We enjoy walking through pet stores and spoil her rotten. I cannot say that I have seen an animal chastity belt in any of my trips to any pet store. Maybe there is an…

Squirrel teasing hanger assembly for a bird feeder [PDF ] [ HTML ] US Patent No. 6,619,229 Issued September 16, 2003 The patent explains that several types of bird feeders have been designed for preventing unwanted animals such as squirrels from eating the bird food in the feeder. The purpose of this invention, however, is not to get rid of…

Scriptured outdoor furniture [ PDF ] [ HTML ] US Patent No. 6,705,334 Issued March 16, 2004 I am almost speechless. This “invention” covers furniture with scripture passages displayed thereon. The broadest claim, however, includes an umbrella, chair, table and much more, so I suppose if you were to just print scripture on an umbrella you would not be infringing.…

I will be officially on vacation from Monday July 27, 2009, through Sunday, August 2, 2009, and then Monday, August 3, 2009, is a travel day to get to Chicago for the last PLI Patent Bar Review Course of the summer, which will take place from from Tuesday, August 4, 2009, through Saturday, August 8, 2009, at John Marshall Law…