On July 7, 1936, U.S. Patent No. 2,046,343, 2,046,837, 2,046,838, 2,046,839, and 2,046,840 issued to Henry F. Phillips all relating to a “screw having a head, a tool receiving recess formed in the head of the screw, said recess comprising a plurality of radially disposed tool receiving grooves,” i.e., the Phillips head screwdriver.
However, Phillips was not the first to invent a screw with a cruciform recess — that honor belongs to J.P. Thompson, who obtained U.S. Patent No. 1,908,080 three years before Phillips:
So why is it a Phillips Head Screwdriver, not a Thompson Head Screwdriver?
Thompson approached many screw manufacturers, all of whom said his screw was impossible to manufacture because the punch needed to create the recess would destroy the screw head. Thompson concluded the whole idea was not manufacturable, confiding in an acquaintance named Henry Phillips who became intrigued with the idea and offered to buy the rights to the patent.
Phillips, an engineer, immediately formed the Phillips Screw Company revised the design and began revisiting many of the same manufacturers that had previously rejected Thompson. Finally, he met with success at American Screw, the nation’s largest screw manufacturer. Phillips convinced General Motors to use the screws on the 1937 Cadillacs. By 1940, 85% of the screw manufacturing companies had a license to produce the Phillips screw recess design.
This is another lesson in successful inventing: Not only do you have the envision the benefits of the invention, but you have to be able to get others to envision those benefits as well.
78 years ago today, on July 5, 1946, Louis Réard introduced his two-piece swimsuit design to the press and the public at the Piscine Molitor, a popular public pool in Paris. The swimsuit was modeled by Micheline Bernardini, an “exotic dancer” who worked at the Casino de Paris, because more reputable models refused to wear the suit, which consisted of just four triangles of fabric, totalling about 30 square inches.
There had been two-piece swimsuits before. Just a few months earlier, Ii May 1946, Jacques Heim produced a two-piece swimsuit that he named the “Atome.” Heim hired skywriters to fly above the Mediterranean coast advertising the Atome as “the world’s smallest bathing suit.” Réard’s swimsuit was more daring because it was smaller, and for the first time exposed the wearer’s navel.
Réard introduced his design four days after the first test of a nuclear weapon at the Bikini Atoll on July 1, 1946. The newspapers were full of news about it and Réard wanted to capitalize on the publicity so he named is suit the “bikini.” Réard, with an obvious flair for marketing, hired his own skywriters to fly over the French Riviera advertising his design as “smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world.” In the 1950’s Réard advertised that it wasn’t a true bikini “unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring.”
Less than two weeks from its introduction, Réard applied for French Design protection on his “Costume de bain 2 pièces.” The design was published as 31778 in Volume 374, pages 23-25, on December 17, 1946, and he received Reg. No. 35473-004.
It took a few years for society to catch up to Réard’s daring design, but by the 1960’s the bikini was mainstream. In August 1960, Brian Hyland famously sang about the “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikiini.”
Réard opened a bikini shop in Paris and sold swimsuits until he retired in 1980 and moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he died in 1984 at the age of 87.
An interesting side note is that Louis Réard was a mechanical engineer who took over his mother’s lingerie business in about 1940 and became a clothing designer.
Today marks the 248th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It seems we mark the day more than the underlying event. But in the past the Declaration was more widely celebrated, including in patents.
U.S. Patent No. 8,936, which issued February 1, 1875, on a Design for Fan, that is printed, stained, embossed, or painted the coat of arms of the original thirteen Federal States, upon the lower end of a shield upon which, and above the coat of arms, is the name of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from the State or Colony whose coat of arms is shown upon the same shield:
U.S. Patent No. 7829 issued on November 3, 1874, on a medal that consists of “a representation on one side of said medal of Carpenter’s Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania” and “representation on the other side of said medal of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.”
U.S. Patent No. D8000, issued January 12, 1875, on a design for a medal with “an allegorical picture of America, showing the Declaration of Independence to Britannia, and holding the American flag unfurled and about to be planted on American soil.”
U.S. Patent No. D8364 issued June 1, 1875, on a design for a Fan with “an elevation of the United States Centennial Exposition Buildling, printed or otherwise produced upon the obverse sidle of the fan,” and a reverse side containing “the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, with representations of foliage and of articles pertaining to industrial pursuits, and at the central upper part a medallion likeness of Washington, surrounded by the national flag and surmounted by the words “ E Pluribus Unum,” the centennial dates 1776—1876, the representation of an eagle, and of a galaxy of stars.
U.S. Patent 8581 issued August 24, 1875, on a Medal of a tree whose thirteen roots represent the original thirteen colonies of the United States, the names of which are placed upon the roots. The trunk has, at its base, the words “Declaration of Independence’ around the date 1776, and the word “Constitution” along its length upward. The eighteen branches represent the eighteen administrations, which are indicated by the names of the Presidents of the United States thereupon. Upon the foliage the names of the thirty-seven States and twelve Territories now comprising the Union are written:
U.S. Patent No. 8593 issued August 31, 1875, on a Flag on design consists of a tree, whose thirteen roots represent the original thirteen colonies of the United States, the names of which are written upon the roots. The trunk has at its base the words, “Declaration of In dependence’ around the date 1776, and the word “Constitution’ along its length upward. The eighteen branches represent the eighteen administrations, which are indicated by the names of the Presidents of the United States thereupon. Upon the foliage the names of the thirty-seven States and twelve Territories now composing the Union are written. The words “The Century Plant” are written above the tree, and beneath them the date 1876. Below the tree is a monogram of the initials J. C. D., and the whole is surrounded by a border of one hundred linked circles, and the dates beginning with 1776 and ending with 1876.
U.S. Patent No. D8876 issued December 28, 1875, on Printing or Weaving of Silk or Other Fabrics, features the preamble and signatures from the Declaration of Independence:
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July, and make sure to remember the document and its authors who made our freedom to do so possible.
Ninety-five years ago today, E.A. Murphy and Eric Owen made the first foam rubber at the Dunlop Latex Development Laboratories in Birmingham, England, using an ordinary kitchen mixer.
Dunlop Rubber Company Limited had filed a Great Britain application on March 21, 1929, and filed a corresponding application in the U.S. on March 20, 1930, which eventually issued on April 5, 1932, as U.S. Patent No. 1,852,447:
The patent explained that “the froth or lather may be formed by beating or stirring the material with paddles of the wire mesh type or with stirrers of the type used in cake mixing or egg beating machines or it may be formed by blowing air or other suitable gas into the dispersions or emulsions either alone or in conjunction with beating or whipping devices. The froth or rubber dispersion thus obtained may be formed to any desired shape as for example by pouring it into open molds and permitting it to set.”
While the original foamed latex has been replaced with foamed urethanes, think how much harder (literally and figuratively) life would be without foam rubber.
45 years ago today, the Sony introduced the Walkman. Sony never pursued patent protection on the Walkman, believing it to be an innovation, not an invention. However, al little more than two years earlier, in March 1977 Andreas Pavel filed a patent application for his “Stereobelt” in Italy, followed by applications in Germany, United States, United Kingdom, and Japan.
Negotiations between Pavel and Sony began in 1980 and ended in 1986 with Sony agreed to pay Pavel limited royalties for the sales of certain Walkman models sold in Germany. The second round between Pavel and Sony began in 1990 in England and Wales, ending in 1993 with the court holding Pavel patent invalid for being “obvious and not significantly inventive,” leaving Pavel with a seven-figure attorney fee award to pay. On appeal Pavel tried to show non-obviousness through the commercial success of the Walkman, but the court rejected this, instead attributing the success to Walkman’s form factor, minimal operating power, and ability to reproduce high-quality sound at reasonable cost as key reasons for its appeal and popularity. The third and final round began in 2004, with Pavel threatening to file infringement proceedings in the remaining countries where he held patent, and Sony reportedly agreeing to a cash payment in the “low eight figures” and ongoing royalties of the sale of certain Walkman models.
Pavel told The New York times that he approached several electronics manufacturers but said he was met with rejection and ridicule. “They all said they didn’t think people would be so crazy as to run around with headphones, that this is just a gadget, a useless gadget of a crazy nut.” 45 years later, it’s hard to find someone running around without headphones. So it is with inventors — they see what the rest of us miss.
June 25 is the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death in 2009. Michael Jackson is remembered for many things, but he is probably not remembered by most people as an inventor — but he was. Michael Jackson received U.S. Patent No. 5,255,452 on a Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion:
This would appear to be what might have been used in Jackson’s 1988 Smooth Criminal video (see below), but the October 13, 1988, release date of the video and the June 29, 1992, filing date of the application don’t seem to match up.
Maybe Jackson was protecting a later-developed improvement to the illusion in the video. Otherwise, the one-year public use bar would seem to be a problem.
Anyway, RIP Michael Jackson, entertainer and inventor.
The movie Jaws premiered forty-nine years ago today. U.S. Patent No. 4602384, which issued July 29, 1986, on an Aquatic Attack Protection Suit and Material Therefor may have been inspired by the 1975 movie:
A few years earlier in 1982 Jeremiah Sullivan received U.S. Patent No. 4356569 on an Armored Skin Diving Suit:
Is it really skin diving if you are wearing armor? Inventors Nelson and Rosetta Fox took the concept further in their 1989 U.S. Patent No. 4833729 on a Shark Protector Suit:
However, shark protection technology predates Jaws. In 1966 Donal Prasser received U.S. Patent No. 3284806 on a Protective Garment that essentially employed chainmail to ward off sharks and other predators:
The publicity for Jaws warned “You’ll Never Go In The Water Again.” But once again, inventors have our backs. They have protected us from sharks (but what’s going to protect us from shark suits?
According to the USPTO, three US patents have issued referencing Juneteenth: 11803924, 11281738, and 8136962 (Google Patents is only aware of the ‘962 patent — good lesson to search both databases). There are some pending applications on mentioning Juneteenth, so there will likely be more in the future.
A seemingly more significant event is the Emancipation Proclamation, from which Juneteenth derives. According to the USPTO the Emancipation Proclamation is referenced in 24 US patents Google Patents is only aware of 23 patents, but identifies one much older patent (before USPTO full text searching), and two fewer recent patents indicating a lag in Google Patents data uploading, again a good lesson to search both databases).
US Patent No. D21862 is the earlier patent identified by Google Patents, and it covers a memorial shield:
The shield is interesting for its revelation of the historic events and persons of significance in 1892:
The large medallions on the shield depict, “Landing of Columbus,” “Landing of the Pilgrims,” “Battle of Lake Erie,” “Washington Crossing the Delaware,”Declaration of Independence,”“Battle of Churubusco,” “Emancipation Proclamation,” and an allegorical design of industrial progress. The smaller medallions depict George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, Ulysses Grant, Thomas Jefferson, H. Wadsworth Longfellow, and Sam. F. B. Morse. Some of these events and persons would likely still be listed today, but with the march of time comes a continual reassessment of what (and who) is important. The Emancipation Proclamation, and its echo Juneteenth, still make the list.
On this day in 1812, the U.S. declared war on Great Britain, starting the War of 1812, which persisted until February 17, 1815, when Congress ratified the Treaty of Ghent. 1812 was not a particularly active year for patents, with just 29 issued (compared to 348359 issued in 2023). Most related to mundane things like curing leather or ovens, but one may have presaged the impending war. U.S. Patent No. X1700 issued April 2, 1812, to Edward Clark:
On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, arrived in New York Harbor. These days it would seem more like a gift from Ikea than France, the statue was in 350 pieces in more than 200 boxes.
The Statute of Liberty was patented by the sculptor, Auguste Bartholdi, six years earlier in 1879:
A peculiar IP side story is that in 2018 the U.S. Postal Services was ordered to pay artist Robert Davidson $3,554,946.95 for accidentally basing its 2011 Forever Stamp honoring the Statute of Liberty, not on the real Statue of Liberty, but on a stylized recreation Davidson produced for the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
The original, the stamp, and the Las Vegas versions.
The postal service sold more than 4,948,761,166 stamps with the unintentionally infringing image. The Court concluded that there were sufficient differences between the New York and Vegas statues to support a copyright claim.
