Garments having inside out appearance
US Patent No. 7,350,242
Issued April 1, 2008

The issuance of this patent on April Fools Day shows that someone at the Patent Office has a sense of humor.  This patent also reminds me of one of my all-time favorite obscure patents - Disposable boxer shorts - which was patented also on April Fools Day, just 5 years earlier.  

In any event, what we have here is not at all unique.  This particular invention is simply a garment having an inside out appearance.  How in the name of all that is right and proper could something like this be patented?  I have absolutely no idea.

We can all sit here and poke fun at this patent, pointing out the obvious problems, such as the fact that clothing that is turned inside out is not really new or unique.  In fact I would venture to say that during the course of a week we all have at least one article of clothing that is inside out in our hamper or laundry basket.  But poking such fun, which mildly entertaining, is not really enlightening. 

Just over one  year ago the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the already famous (or perhaps it is better to say infamous) matter of KSR v. Teleflex.  In that case the Supreme Court ostensibly made it more difficult to obtain a patent.  The US Supreme Court decided that the well established and functional bright line rule for obviousness was to rigid.  No longer must there be a teaching, motiviation or suggestion to render an invention unpatentable for obviousness reasons.  Now we go case by case and determine for every invention whether it would be within the common sense knowledge base of someone of skill in the art. 

Product Coach Matt Yubas and Patent and Licensing Attorney Mark Malek are hosting a workshop to help everyday inventors succeed in presenting product ideas to companies for royalties. Matt Yubas (www.Product-Coach.com), author of Product Idea to Product Success, will provide the step-by-step licensing process from idea to receiving royalties.

Mr. Malek, an attorney with the firm Zies, Widerman, Sutch and Malek, PL, will show how to protect ideas, the patent process, and go over the fine points of licensing terms and agreements.

When you file a patent application it is always necessary to file an application that completely and clearly describes the invention so that others would be able to understand the invention.  For new inventors it is sometimes difficult to understand the so-called description requirement to patentability.  It is not an overstatement to say that the description of your invention must be so complete that it could be copied by others who read your patent application and/or issued patent.  It is absolutely critical to understand that this complete and full description MUST be present as of the filing date of your application.  If you file an application that does not describe the invention to the required level the application is defective and it cannot be fixed.  The only way to fix an inadequate disclosure is to file a new application with an adequate disclosure, but that means you obtain no benefit from the earlier inadequate application.

I am frequently asked about the benefit of filing a provisional patent application.  I am a fan of provisional patent applications and encourage independent inventors and small businesses to start with a provisional patent application, but it is important to understand what a provisional patent application, what benefits are provided and perhaps most importantly what a provisional patent application will not do. 

A provisional patent application allows for filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. The beauty of the provisional patent application is that it locks in your application date and provides you with “patent pending” status for much less cost than is associated with a non-provisional patent application. You then have 12 months to decide whether it makes sense to move forward with the expense of filing a non-provisional application.

A trade secret is any valuable business information that is that is not generally known and is subject to reasonable efforts to preserve confidentiality. One of the world’s most famous trade secrets is the formula for Coca-Cola. 

A trade secret will be protected from misappropriation from exploitation (through state law) by those who either obtain access through improper means or who breach a promise to keep the information confidential. Trade secret misappropriation is really a type of unfair competition. Remedies for infringement of a trade secret include damages, profits, reasonable royalties, and an injunction. Some statutes also provide for enhanced damages and attorneys fees in certain circumstances.

Head mounted letter “M” [ PDF ]
US Patent No.6,834,453
Issued December 28, 2004 

Searching for obscure patents can sometimes seem like looking for a needle in a haystack. Certainly, there are no shortage of patents that get issued on a weekly basis that should never have seen the light of day. Unfortunately, invalid patents are increasingly becoming a way of life. Occasionally, however, a holy grail of obscurity is stumbled across. Finding and reading such wacky patents makes the journey through the hundreds of thousands of patents issued yearly all worth while. This particular patent is one of those rare finds. Spotting a patent like this is both fun, entertaining and tremendously sad. How in the name of all that is right in the world could the United States Patent Office issue a patent on a modified letter “M”? Giving the USPTO the benefit of the doubt, this letter “M” is worn on the head of the user. To quote Charlie Brown… “GOOD GRIEF.”

The Background of the Invention explains:

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display that is adapted to be mounted onto the head of a fan and which is provided with the shape of a letter “M” that has some association with a particular team. For example, the Seattle Mariners baseball team is commonly referred to as the “M’s.” It is an object of the invention to provide a display in the shape of a “M” that is adapted to be self-secured to the head of a fan, so that, for example, the fan can wear it to a game or elsewhere.

IPWatchdog.com launches FREE Provisional Patent Application service.  Use our automated system to create a provisional patent application for free.  No strings attached! 

This process is one that I developed as a result of my teaching activities over the years.  I had to come up with a way to teach law students how to draft patent applications.  It was adapted to use by inventors and has been tremendously successful, helping thousands of inventors create provisional patent applications. 

For more information see: Free Provisional Patent Applications

The United Inventors Association recently held an interim election to replace the Jack Smith who resigned as the UIA President and Board Member.  Gene Quinn, a patent attorney with White + Quinn and the founder of IPWatchdog.com, was elected to the Board to serve the remainder of Smith’s term, which will run through 2009. 

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In the much anticipated decision from the Eastern District of Virginia the claims and continuation rules enjoined on October 31, 2007, were unceremoniously thrown out!  Judge Cacheris concluded:

Because the USPTO’s rulemaking authority under 35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(2) does not extend to substantive rules, and because the Final Rules are substantive in nature, the Court finds that the Final Rules are void as “otherwise not in accordance with law” and “in excess of statutory jurisdiction [and] authority.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2).

The complete decision is available at:

http://ipwatchdog.com/GSK_v_PTO/gsk_uspto_decision.pdf

Chair upholstered with sports jersey
US Patent No. 7,340,813
Issued March 11, 2008

This is an interesting invention for many reasons.  While this may seem like a silly invention to some, I think this is a very creative invention that is well worth protecting.  Yes, I just might surprise long time readers of IPWatchdog.com by not making fun of a patent profiled under the heading “obscure patent.”