Mario P. DiForte, an inventor, is battling heart problems so he has decided to give away some of his patents. Of course, he isn’t handing them off to just anyone reports The Baltimore Sun. The catch: DiForte says he will hand over patents, including pending and provisional ones, on 22 products to “legitimate” companies only […]
Samuel Morse may have come long before the invention of the Internet, but that didn’t stop him from trying to patent the basic idea behind it, reports The Wall Street Journal. This would have been a patent for all uses of the telegraph—and would also have included the Internet. The 19th-century justices refused to block
Could Morse Patent The Internet? Read More »
Jon Muskin, writing on Inventor Digest, explains that there’s no such thing as a provisional patent, and other mistakes contests make on Shark Tank: Contestants frequently make the same mistake which annoys me every time. The sharks commonly ask the contestants whether they have a patent on their invention. The contestant frequently replies with, “I
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According to Fox News in Chicago, this is a disappointing story about a man named Keith Taylor. After all, he had done everything right. Keith had invented a unique turning signal back in the 80s. He patented that device, sought out a supplier, got paid, and got out. When the supplier went defunct, Keith lost
Toe Puppets Next show after my pedicure. Anti-Eating Mask You only eat fava beans and a nice Chianta. Device For Moistening The Adhesive Coating On Postage Stamps And Envelopes I got no spit. Apparatus For Facilitating The Birth Of A Child By Centrifugal Force Mom, tell me again how I was born… Photos by USPTO.
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Michael Lechter: Technically, there is no such thing as a “provisional patent.” The patent law provides for a “provisional application,” which isn’t subject to some of the formal requirements for a regular patent application. A provisional application, however, is not intended to, itself, provide any enforceable rights. It is not examined by the Patent and
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On July 17, 1902 in the midst of a steamy summer, Dr. Willis H. Carrier developed and later patented the first modern system to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and indoor air. From there, his innovation created an industry dedicated to making the world a cooler place to live, work and play. In
Summer’s Most Important Invention: Air Conditioning Read More »
techdirt: Nearly all of the economic evidence shows that patents tend to do more harm than good. Researchers James Bessen and Michael J. Meurer have gone into a little more detail as to how much damage is done, but I wanted to focus on why the downsides to patents are so often worse than the
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‘Inventors’ is a series of portrait videos by filmmaker and photographer David Friedman, chronicling the work of contemporary inventors from all walks of life. It offers rare glimpses into the inspiration for their creations, which range from the first digital camera and first video game console to a drive-able amphibious ice-fishing vehicle. In this episode:
Video: The First Software Patent Read More »
Amazon has patented “anticipatory package shipping,” a system that ships products before customers have actually bought them — based on what it predicts they will buy, according to NPR. The Verge explains: “Amazon plans to box and ship products it expects customers to buy preemptively, based on previous searches and purchases, wish lists, and how
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