Posts Tagged: "wacky patents"

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…

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.…

US Patent No. 5,868,140 Issued February 9, 1999 This patent covers a method and apparatus for implantation of a testicular prosthetic device, with the patient being a pet, such as a dog!  I am not going to say much about this one. The patent speaks for itself. I don’t know whether this is or should be patentable, but it seems…

By now it is certain that anyone living in any civilization around the world knows that Michael Jackson, the acclaimed entertainer and eccentric cultural icon, passed away late yesterday afternoon reportedly from an as yet unexplained cardiac arrest.  Many will no doubt be focusing on Jackson’s contribution to the entertainment industry, and perhaps even his ownership of the copyrights to…

Subterranean termite detection US Patent No. 6,526,692 Issued March 4, 2003 Here is an interesting obscure patent from IPWatchdog past, but one too good to miss.  This originally caught my eye while reading the New York Times. The article in the Times is titled: Using Termite Flatulence Against Them. This all seemed like a joke, but it must be true,…

Collar apparatus enabling secure handling of a snake by tether US Patent No. 6,490,999 Issued December 10, 2002 This invention is one of the all-time greats in the Obscure Patent category, and is back by popular demand (or at least the request of a longtime IPWatchdog.com reader).  As in practically all patents, there are multiple claims. The first claim and…

Bathing Poncho US Patent No. 7,509,689 Issued: March 31, 2009 I am almost speechless, which does not happen often.  I came across this patent over the weekend.  It was NFL Draft weekend, which means that I was parked in front of the TV all weekend.  Between picks, and while waiting for a pick from the Dallas Cowboys that never came…

 Over the last several years the patent allowance rate has fallen from about 70% of applications becoming patents to a low of 42% of patent applications becoming issued patents.  During this same time the Patent Office has continued to proclaim that quality has risen, which everyone in the industry knows to be false.  The real tragedy is that the Supreme…

Finger mounted insect dissuasion device and method of use US Patent No. 7,484,328 Issued: February 3, 2009

Pet umbrella and combined pet leash US Patent No. 6,871,616 Issued October 28, 2003 Before I start getting to deep, allow me to point out that I am a animal lover and a dog person. That being said, I think this takes things just a little bit too far. Dog lovers always spoil their pets, but an umbrella specifically designed…

Environmental friendly animal excrement collector US Patent No. 7,461,616 Issued December 9, 2008 Every once in a while I come across a patent that I know is going to become one of my all-time favorites, and this is certainly one of those patents.  This may be the most ingenious of all inventions and I would still want to include it…

Carry-out food container US Patent No. 7,451,889 Issued November 18, 2008 Did you know that on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, a carry out food container was patented? I discussed this patent in a post last week titled Unequal Treatment at the US Patent Office, where I discussed the unfair and inequal treatment that seems to be plaguing the Patent Office.  After…

Disposable Boxer Shorts US Patent No. 6,539,554 [ PDF ] [ HTML ] Issued April 1, 2003 Believe it or not, this patent on disposable boxer shorts was issued on April Fools Day 2003! The fact that this patent issued on April Fools Day is rather appropriate and does certainly demonstrate that someone in the Patent Office has a sense…

Free-standing lasagna product US Patent No. 5,939,113 [ PDF ] [ HTML ] Issued August 17, 1999 This obscure patent is a recipe for lasagna. Yes, lasagna was patented on August 17, 1999. Truthfully, that over exaggerates the situation somewhat, but really only slightly. It is more accurate to say that this particular lasagna recipe was patented less than four…