Yuletide Patents: Reconstruction to the Long Depression (1860's to 1900's)

One of the reasons that I find IP Law so fascinating is the depth and breadth history that patent records provide.  Patents provide an alternative, focused history into the mindset of inventors and designers. Problem solvers and money makers have used the patent system for hundreds of years to disclose to the world their version of a better mousetrap. The patent office is a near perfect record of the changes that have taken place in design, manufacturing and technology.

This is the start of a series looking at holiday patents through the years.A trip through the patent office records will find patents on various weapons, vehicles, rocket ships and toys. The diligent observer will also find technologies directed to freeing man from the onerous chores that have plagued the human condition since time immemorial.

Of course, one of the plagues beset  heavily on the shoulders of mankind is Christmas decorations. Untold families have been torn asunder by arguments concerning the de-tangling of lights, proper Christmas tree display orientation angles and proper ornament positioning.

The following patents show that the issues around Christmas, the quest for easier decorations, for simpler trees, for time saving autonomous devices, has changed little in the last 150 years.


The featured patent at the top of the post is the earliest patent I could find which used the term Christmas.  Patent No. 18,238 was filed in 1868; and concerns a design patent on a particular figure for a Christmas tree ornament.

Slightly more recent, from 1881, Patent No. 237,026 describes a paper Christmas Tree decoration. As industry and commerce stalled during the Long Depression, the inventor, Mr. Kanuff probably hoped that his Christmas decorations would help life spirits as well the balance of his bank account.











Of course, nothing goes better with paper draped over a wooden, rapidly drying, vertical piece of kindling than an open flame. This is why Mr. Schroeder's idea, patented in 1903, for a "Candle holders for Christmas Trees" was likely a big hit.
















Possibly as a result of uncontrollable fires resulting from placing candles in Christmas tress, enterprising inventors sought to do away with the tawdry notion of an actual tree. Why fell a potential hazard when you can construct a safe tree with the tools of science. For example patent 255,902 describes an "Imitation Christmas tree"













Of course, no Yuletide celebration would be complete without the accompaniment of music. The modern era is complete with Ipads and Spotifys, belting out the latest Christmas versions of your favorite artists.

 Engineers of the later 19th Century had solved the problem of stored music, a perfect accompaniment to the roaring fire which is quickly engulfing your candle lit Christmas tree.

Reed Organs had been around for some time. However Mr. Metzger found useful improvements in the art of delivering canned Christmas music. All the elements are there of the modern electronic system of music. A recordable medium, a software instruction set, and a hardware amplification device.






Patent Office records provide a wonderful source of inspiration for designers and inventors. The technology illustrated in these patents still exists, only in more refined forms. Anyone who loves graphic or industrial design owes it to themselves to take a trip through the patent office records.

Jordan Garner

Turkey Day Inventions [REDUX]

[One of my first blog posts, written in the dark days of 2009, concerned Thanksgiving day inventions. I re-post this here, with minor updates based on dramatic life changes. ]


Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. This truism is never more clear than in the kitchen. Millions of man hours have been spent hunched over hocks of meat, bowls of flour and piles of vegetables. It makes sense then that the inventions directed to freeing up the cook to cook are some of the oldest patents on record.

I decided to think of some of the kitchen inventions that a Pilgrim would have traded a shipment of Belt-buckle hats for.



A hand cranked apple peeler, corer and slicer patented in 1893 (PN # 508,137) would have saved Pilgrims countless man-hours. Giving them more time during the day to pray, not dance, and contemplate their terrifying existence at the edge of the world.


The mixing stand. (PN #2,390,742) No stranger to the denizens of wedding registries the world over, the mixing stand would have saved "Goody" Housewife countless hours of effort and the associated repetitive strain injuries of mashing all manner of root, tuber and vegetable. First patented in 1939, the mixing stand was licensed to A.F. Dormeyer Mfg Co. under the trade-name "Mix-Rite". This "striking" stand-mixer would have freed up plenty of time for Pilgrims to contemplate the high-rate of  "Consumption" and vitamin-deficiency related illness endemic to the populace.

The Mechanical Refrigerator (PN # 2,089,851). Also patented in the late 1930's, this invention described the use of fluid (namely Freon) expansion to provide the cooling mechanism to preserve foods. Something that would have aided the Pilgrims greatly. Nothing says pointless effort like spending 3 days to prepare a feast and having most of the left-overs spoil in half that time.



Antibiotics (numerous patents). While not necessarily Thanksgiving specific inventions, Pilgrims would have traded all the muskets and bibles they had for a few doses of modern-day broad spectrum anti-biotic.

The accepted statistic is that there were 7 graves dug for every new house built in the early settlement period. Most of these were deaths do to disease and infant mortality, both of which modern medical science has made great strides in minimizing. That is what we should really be thankful for.

[G|A]

Terrors of the Patent Office [ Halloween Patents]

Nothing gets the inventive process moving like a commercial holiday. Unlike Christmas, Halloween lacks a committed religious lobby arguing that the festival has become too commercialized. Gaelic Druids, engaging in their Samhain Festivities, would probably be in awe of the variety and sophistication of modern creepy faced gourd lanterns. (a particularly creepy turnip Samhain lantern seen at left)

A quick search of the patent office provides several excellent updates of this apparently ancient tradition of making disturbing faces on otherwise inedible tubers. (Yes, I find turnips inedible...)

Everyone likes a menacingly happy Jack-O-Lantern. That's why, in 1907,  JC Tyndall of  St. Louis decided to file and get a patent (No. 848,938 on a "Toy Lantern"). Tyndall realized that the weak point of any Pumpkin light was the cap, and the susceptibility of the entire enterprise ending in a pumpkin scented conflagration. therefore, his pumpkin lantern includes a candle retainer, and an interlocking cap and gimbals mechanism for easy transport. the Specification does not detail why the eyebrows are so disturbingly curved.

In the continued vein of creepy faced pumpkin products, we move onto B. Wilmsen's particularly threatening Jack-O-Lantern patent issued in 1934. (No. 94,935 on a "Pumpkin Lantern").Tyndall had actually technology. Wilmsen make up for his lack of technical sophistication in this design patent with existential pumpkin-faced dread. His products nearly vertical optical orbs scream "infringe me if you dare!"

Lastly, we have an epileptic seizure inducing pumpkin Lantern. The psychedelic 1960's produced some interesting and mind altering experiences.  None of these hold an electronic candle to a double faced Janus-like Pumpkin invented by R.R. Authier of Oaks Bluff Mass and issued as Pat. No. 3,250,910. (Ed: Martha's vineyards for those who don't know).This specialty lantern has dual faces, one scary and one comical. In addition, it contains selectively operated light sources of differing colors. Lastly, these lights can blink or strobe, producing the red flashing eyes of a haunted monstrosity, in pumpkin form.


Always remember to check the patent office for particularly excellent holiday ideas.

Developer's IP checklist

Awhile back I got a call from a video game developer that was about to go live with their product. The lead developer/CEO had just discovered that there was a trademark registered to a major company, that happened to be the same name as their game.

Luckily, we were able to resolve the issue prior to them going live, but it raises an interesting point.

A lot of the discussion relative to IP in the start up / developer space is colored by the larger market discussion on software patents and their role in, or hindrance on, innovation.  This discussion has sucked all the air out of the room as it applies to the multiple forms of IP that are pretty critical to a successful brand.

As such, I figured I would just do a quick check list for all the app/game/social media/ tech start-ups out there that maybe thought that having a position on patents was their sole IP issue.  Here is the quick check list, followed by some in-depth discussion.

1. Do you have Copyright Assignments for Coders, Designers and UI/GFX Modelers
2. Do you have a Trademark on your company / product name. Do you have a domain name on the same?
3. Do you have a firm wide confidentiality policy?

Copyright  Assignment Documents:
 In the U.S. any works of authorship, which includes drawings, character models, wireframes, code, or text, is covered by copyright.  The copyright vests in the creator at the time of creation. So, as soon as your character modeler generates an awesome character for your app, the copyright in that character vests in the creator. Not, I repeat, Not the company who they they are working for.

This is always true, UNLESS, you have an agreement in place that assigns all of that work to the company.

This can be done in two ways. The first is to have everyone that is working on the project sign a document that assigns all of their work to the company.

Second, which is more subject to legal challenge, is a Work For Hire Agreement. A Work For Hire Agreement that states that the works created were done so as a commissioned work of authorship. This is the language you will find in employment contracts for large media companies and software companies alike. The problem is, if you and your buddies are coding the killer app, when did you sign employment agreements? Odds are you didn't Once you are ready to go live, pitch investors, or hit Kickstarters, everyone who has contributed to the project should agree, in writing that they are assigning their rights over to some entity.  However the agreement is made is largely irrelevant, the goal is to get the assets essential to the company under the ownership umbrella of the company.

As a second point, I always suggest filing a few federal copyrights on art assets or screen shots, just to deter scrapers, clones and knockoff artists.

Trademarks:

Trademarks are source designations of origin. They identify the good or service as coming from a particular entity. As I stated at the beginning of this piece, an invaluable use of time is to check the trademark office to see if the name of your game, company, or app is already in use. If so, is it is the same field of use. There is nothing worse then having to go back through code looking for references to a company name that needs to be changed at the last minute. Securing a trademark relative to a patent is a cheap and easy process. Once it is secured it can be used as your brand and the public show case of all your company has to offer.

I always remind clients that Twitter did not Trademark "Tweet", a decision that came back to bite them in terms of money and attorney fees. See here.

Confidentiality

As a rule of thumb, anything that pertains to proprietary technology, that gives you a perceived edge in the market place (google's search algorithms, Coke's formula, Zucherberg's Hoodie), should be kept confidential.  Not only is this just good practice, but it also lays the foundation of a strong Trade Secret Policy.  As I pointed out in an earlier post here, the rules for protecting valuable IP via Trade Secret Laws has been greatly enhanced.

Every Company should take advantage of that, not just vampire squid banks. The best way to do so, is to make sure that everyone has signed confidentiality agreements that lay out their responsibility to keep the companies secrets...secret.

For the large majority of start-ups and developers, this is all the IP you need. In the future, when you begin driving technology, Patents will become a critical component of your IP strategy. However, you will never get there if you don't secure your IP in the beginning.

Jordan Garner