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We're all familiar with some of the more famous patents in history; Thomas Edison's electric light, Samuel Morse's morse code, and Henry Ford's carburetor, for example. But sometimes genius manifests itself in the form of less... conventional inventions. Here are ten ridiculous "medical" patents, and a couple scientific ones, that you've probably never heard of. More »
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Most Silicon Valley companies were opposed to the patent reform law that President Obama signed last week. Some argue that the America Invents Act favors large megacorps over smaller companies, and could dampen innovation in the tech sector. More »
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Yesterday, inventor Ignacio Marc Asperas of Melville, NY was granted the US patent for an "apparatus for facilitating the construction of a snow man/woman," a.k.a. a snowman-shaped shell with which to cover with snow. That's a bizarre idea, but what truly makes this patent required reading is its totally non-technical language. Here are Asperas' thoughts on... More »
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ON-ART Corp., Tokyo ("a top artistic structure airbrush paint production company in Japan") have just been granted their US patent (7,997,991 B2) for a "Costume suit of large size animal." More »
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Did Apple invent the iPad? Or did Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke? Samsung is using the above clip as a piece of evidence in its defense against Apple's patent lawsuit over the Galaxy S and similar tablet computers. More »
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If you're making a flicking gesture with a pen near your computer, watch out. Microsoft may own the rights to the gesture you're making. And if you like to draw letters of the alphabet using one penstroke per letter, you may one day find yourself paying a licensing fee to Xerox. More »
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In Paul Melko's Walls Of The Universe, our hero visits an alternate world where patents and copyrights only last a short time. What would happen to science fiction if this was true in our world? More »
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Is it the beginning of the end for the patent system? Last week, a US Court of Appeals decision eliminated most patents on business methods and software, but some still feel that the very system meant to reward inventors is stifling innovation. Many a scifi plot has hinged on who owns a particular technology, and it seems most writers agree that the system is due for a change. More »
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This is probably the most demented patent idea you will ever see. Artist Tom Giesler makes patent drawings for a living, creating images for inventors of who work in biology and information technology. As an artist, he turns those patent drawings into the stuff of parody and nightmare, generating patents for things like a "method and device for recognizing and vaporizing decoys serving to disguise targets with the aid of a stylish mobile terrestrial search head." More »
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