Schlagwort-Archive: patent

New Patent and Trademark Resource Center Now Open to the Public

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a press release that the University of New Hampshire School of Law Library, which was designated as the Concord Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) on January 30, 2012, is now open to serve the intellectual property (IP) needs of the public.

“PTRCs serve as the face of the USPTO on a local level and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that ensures that potential filers have the resources necessary to draw on for support as they begin their quest for commercial success with their intellectual property,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “We look forward to working with the University of New Hampshire School of Law, formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center, to better serve New Hampshire’s IP community.”

Currently, PTRC designated libraries can be found in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This network of more than 80 public, academic, state and special libraries assists a variety of customers including inventors, intellectual property attorneys/agents, business people, researchers, entrepreneurs, students and historians.

In addition to offering free electronic services and resources designed to support the intellectual property needs of local and state patrons, the Concord Patent and Trademark Resource Center will employ USPTO-trained librarians to provide customer assistance on the use of the agency’s patent and trademark databases and public seminars on intellectual property topics for novice and experienced users.

Inventorhaus, Inc. acquires Ideatango.com!

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Each day the huge network of InventorHaus, Inc. is getting bigger and bigger! The most recent examples is ideatango.com, which now also belongs to the Miami based company.


IdeaTango originally operated a website for inventors. It also offered education and resource libraries, contests, and bulletin boards for inventors; and invention listings, support business directories, discussion forums, and advertising platforms for inventor-support service providers, such as patent attorneys, designers, prototypers, and consultants. It also provided directories of products and inventions, as well as a platform to solicit inventions that meet business models for businesses looking to acquire new inventions.


In order to give all users instantly and further on the possibility to present their invention to a huge network and inventing community, the site was forwarded to inpama.com. Check it out it´s free of charge!


It´s just like Marijan Jordan and Gerhard Muthenthaler, the founders and owners of InventorHaus, Inc. say: „As long as there are people who have ideas, our success story can only continue“.

See the patents of Steve Jobs

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Are you an Apple fan? Yes? Then here is something you might be interested in! Did you know that throughout his career Apple co-founder Steve Jobs acquired 317 patents? Soon you can see them in Washington D.C.

From May 11th until July 8th, 2012 the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center is showing an exhibition called „The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World“.

As you can read in the details by visiting the exhibition you also learn about the far-reaching impact of Steve Jobs’ entrepreneurship and innovation on our daily lives,and how his patents and trademarks reveal the importance intellectual property plays in the global marketplace.

The exhibit is a series of 30 4-by-8-foot panels designed to look like iPhones. On view are an Apple Macintosh computer, mouse, and keyboard; a NeXT monitor, keyboard, mouse, sound box, and microcomputer plus an Apple iPod.

A book about the goofiest patents

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Where to begin, a lot of inventors wonder. Search the internet or read a book? There are many guidebooks out there, where young inventors as well as adults can find useful and inspiring tips how to turn their idea into reality.

But the invention business has another side too, the funny one and author Ted VanCleave looked at it. His book called Totally Absurd Inventions: America´s goofiest patents is available in English and Japanese.

Just read the description on amazon.com and you know that you have some funny pages ahead of you: „Totally Absurd Inventions offers the best of the goofy from the millions of patents granted during the past 70 years. Each of the nearly 100 off-the-wall inventions unearthed for this collection features the detailed patent application illustration and a lively description of the bizarre proposed creation.


Need to know when your baby’s diaper is dirty? You’ll want to see the plans behind the Diaper Alarm. Little boys wanting to avoid playground kisses may find just what they need in the Kissing Shield. Want to add a unique Wisconsin twist to your cigarette? The Cheese-Filtered Cigarette might do the trick. Super Trash Man, the Cranium Cooler, the All-Terrain Stroller, and the Pet Toilet are just a few more of the zany but fascinating inventions highlighted in this compendium of creativity.


Author Ted VanCleave is himself an inventor of the weird. His award-winning Web site, Totally Absurd Inventions, began in 1997 after he conducted patent research for his own wacky invention, Inflatable Greeting Cards. That research uncovered similarly fascinating inventions that he’s shared with the more than two million people who have visited his web site, which has been named USA Today’s site of the week and attracted the attention of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.“

This patented technology literally goes under your skin

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It was uncovered by Vlad Bobleanta at UnWiredView last week, by now many other journalists, like Caroline Howard from Forbes, reported about the unusual Nokia patent.

„Nokia is taking steps to make sure you never miss another phone call, text or email alert again: The company has filed a patent for a tattoo that would send „a perceivable impulse“ to your skin whenever someone tried to contact you on the phone“, writes Deborah Netburn from the Orlando Senitnel.


„Just as you can assign different ringtones to different contacts in your address book, this device can vibrate differently based on who’s calling, or whether you’re getting a text, email or news alert, according to the documents. It can even warn you when your phone’s battery is about to die“, says Braden Goyette from the New York Daily News.




Now you may ask yourself: „How does this work?“ The patent „suggests using a ferromagnetic ink, which includes compounds like iron or iron oxide, for the tattoo. Heat the ink to a high temperature before applying to the user’s skin to temporarily demagnetize it. Otherwise, ouch. Afterwards, remagnetize the tattoo simply by “repeatedly running a magnet over tattooed spot.

For those not interested going full-robot, there is a sticker version, or a magnetic receiver worn on the skin, to sub for the vibrating tattoo“, explains the Forbes article.

Ever heard of the Lincoln patent?

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Presidents, especially the US ones, always attract a lot of attention. But there are some facts that aren’t commonly known. Well, that Barak Obama is the first African-American US-president and that he received the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 doesn´t sound new. But did you know that John F. Kennedy was so far the only Catholic American president and that he won a Purlitzer Prize.

And Abraham Lincoln? Do you know that he was the only United States President to hold a patent?

Want to know more? Read some quotes from about.com: Lincoln had a strong interest in new technology. As a young man he took a boatload of merchandise down the Mississippi River. At one point the boat slid onto a dam and was set free only after heroic efforts. In later years, while traveling on the Great Lakes, Lincoln’s ship ran afoul of a sandbar.

These two similar experiences led him to conceive his invention. In 1849 Abraham Lincoln received a patent for „A Device for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals“. Abraham Lincoln whittled the model for his patent application with his own hands out of wood. It is on display at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.

The invention consisted of a set of bellows attached to the hull of a ship just below the water line. After reaching a shallow place, the bellows were filled with air that buoyed the vessel higher, making it float higher. The invention was never marketed, it was discovered that the extra weight the device added increased the probability of running onto sandbars, defeating the purpose of the invention.

The Female Edison

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Have you ever heard somebody using this expression? It is not a way to refer Mrs Edison, no, it actually describes women that were able to receive patents for various products and ideas. One of them is Margaret Knight, the first women who received a U.S. Patent and who was also known as the Queen of Paper Bags.

Margaret was born in York, Maine, but spent her childhood in Manchester, New Hampshire. She had little bothers and made kites and sleds for them, which where the envy of the neighborhood. Although she only received her first patent at the age of 30, these kites can be considered her first inventions. As an adult, Margaret Knight moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she worked in a manufacturing company for paper bags.

While working there, she invented machinery that would automatically fold and glue the bottom of the bag to create a bottom square. But since the reaction to this improvement was not positive, Margaret moved on and founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870.

Every paper grocery bag that we can find in stores today, goes back to her inventions. She also invented a number of domestic gadget in her life like a numbering machine and a window frame and sash, patented in 1894. However, her creativity never gave her much profit. She died of pneumonia in 1914 leaving an estate valued at less than $300.

Do You Know … Patents?

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The most widely known proprietary law is a patent. A patent is a legal title which protects a technical invention for a limited period of time. A patent prevents others from exploiting the invention within the countries for which the patent has been granted. An invention is patentable when it is:

• new
• commercially applicable
• non-obvious

Items that are not feasible, such as a perpetual motion machine, are in general not patentable. Moreover, laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas cannot be patented. The invention should be described on the patent application form in such a way that a specialist can understand it. A prototype is not necessary to apply for a patent. The typical lifespan of a patent lasts for 20 years. Fees are higher if the patent is to be protected in a number of countries. Patent protection is only one tool among many in a comprehensive business plan.

However, in order to raise capital, an enterprise may have to protect its technology to prevent exploitation until the capital is raised and the business developed. Capital would be required to set up manufacturing and marketing operations, and patent and design rights should prevent competitors from exploiting the technology until such operations are active, and moreover, profitable. For smaller companies, a patent can be used to take a new or improved product to other markets around the world. Smaller companies have many advantages over larger ones, particularly in their flexibility, and the existence of a patent strengthens its negotiating position with any potential licensees.

Click here for information on filing a patent application

European Inventor Award 2012

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Although the deadline has already passed for the upcoming award in 2012, it might be interesting for all inventors to learn about another opportunity to gain fame and recognition. The European Inventor Award, which is one of the most prestigious awards an inventor can win, has been launched by the European Patent Office in 2006. This award gives the inventors the recognition they deserve and also pays tribute to creativity of the inventors, who use their skills in different fields to improve people’s lives.

In 2012 the ceremony will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 14, in cooperation with the Danish EU Council Presidency, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office as well as the European Commission. Although there are different categories in this award, it is open to the public and anyone can submit an entry. The different categories are Industry, SME’s, Research, Non-European countries and Lifetime achievement.

The award is a sail shaped trophy, which was designed by a German industrial designer called Miriam Irle. The sail, which is a symbol of pioneering spirit, is made of a different innovative substance every year. Aluminium, porcelain, glass have been used among many others in the recent years. In 2011 the trophy was made of Arboform, a bio-plastic material which had won an award in the previous year. All candidates for the upcoming award had to submit their inventions by October 6, 2011. The winners will be announced in February 2012. We are all looking forward to the ceremony in Copenhagen and some great new inventions.

Another Year is Coming to an End

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… and we should take the time to sit back and reflect on all the important events of 2011.

Among the people that sadly passed away in 2011, the world lost one of its best known inventors and entrepreneurs. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, died on October 5, 2011, after fighting pancreatic cancer for many years. He lost the battle, aged only 56.

He was a great inventor and business man and co-founder of Apple, Inc. He overlooked the creation of the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad. The impact of his influence reaches far into our personal lives. Most of us find it practically impossible to imagine a life without our smart phone. In order to commemorate his achievements, the United States Patent and Trademark Officeshows an exhibition in the Inventors Hall of Fame at their head office in Alexandria, Virginia. It is open to the public and the admission is free until January 15, 2012 where more than 300 patents, which bear the name of Steve Jobs along with many trademarks that have given Apple its recognizable identity around the world, can be seen.

This exhibition was created by Invent Now, Inc., which is a non-profit organization dedicated to show and preserve the inventions created in America and around the world.