“Crying babies are the source of great frustration for adults, particularly for their parents. Because they cannot speak, infants cry as their primary means of communication and they do it with great frequency. Babies cry as a means to communicate that they are in pain, unhappy, tired, hungry or generally in need of attention. Sometimes […]
Tag: patent
Sexual appliances have subclass, says the Patent Office
“SEXUAL APPLIANCE” is the official name of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Class 600, Subclass 38. Class 600, the broad-ranging general class of which Subclass 38 is a mere part, is for inventions that, in the view of the patent office, have to do with “SURGERY”. Innovation, as seen by the Patent Office, does not happen […]
They have revoked the patent for the wheel
I have begun blogging about Improbable Innovation (a very broad category, that!) for the Boston Globe‘s BetaBoston.com web site. My first report there begins: Re-inventing the wheel: Why not? Many do. Despite the warning “Don’t re-invent the wheel”, people continue to reinvent the wheel. Some of those people file patent applications. Patent offices even approve […]
C. A. R. L. Ver Genius’s printer’s quoin
C.A.R.L. Ver Genius is remembered best, in some quarters, for his patented printer’s quoin. The patent is: “Printers Quoin,” US patent 298,639, granted May 13, 1884, to C.A.R.L. Ver Genius of Galesberg, Illinois, USA. Here’s a highlight from the patent: BONUS: A modern, spirited discussion about quoins BONUS (unrelated): Wolfgang Genius‘s mobile crushing system