Surprising PATENT FACTS You (Probably) Didn’t Know

Surprising PATENT FACTS PATENT YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW 'Patent'. comes from the Latin word 'Patere', which means “to lay open", or to make available for others to review. The main reason for a patent is to restrict other people from making or selling the same invention for the duration of the patent. Patents goes back to at least 500 BC in the Greek city of Sybaris, with the definition : "Encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent of the space of a year." Surprising Patent Facts The patent for the fire hydrant was destroyed in a fire. The Aero(R) chocolate bar was patented in the UK in 1935. Unfortunately just in time for rationing! Sometimes it can be beneficial NOT to patent something, if you want to keep the ingredients/mechanism secret; the product WD-40 is unpatented for this very reason. Inventors of some medicines chose not to patent their products so that it would be more available for everyone, such as Jonas Salk and the Polio vaccine. Halliburton Company once tried to patent patent-trolling (US20080270152). UK Patent Application No.GB2221607 A glove for couples who wish to maintain palm-to-palm contact while holding hands. It has a common palm section, but two separate sets of fingers. STRANGE Patents UK Patent Application GB2251542 UK Patent Application No. GB2172200 An ashtray which encourages you to quit smoking. An umbrella for wearing on the head. The support frame is designed so it doesn't mess up the wearer's hair. Ben Franklin refused to patent any of his inventions, saying: "as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours and this we should do freely and generously." Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president to receive a patent while in the office. He was awarded patent No. 6,469 in May 1849 for a device designed to lift boats off the sand bars. In 1883, A. Ashwell of Herne Hill, south London, patented the Vacant/Engaged sign for public lavatories. 1924 saw publication of a patent entitled 'A system of transmitting views portraits and scenes by teleg- raphy or wireless telegraphy'. This was the birth of television. www.londonip.com Sources: http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Wacky-Inventions---Real-Patents-212084.html http://blog.odysen.com/2013/12/12/10-interesting-facts-about-patents/ http://www.patentlyabsurd.org.uk/morepats.html http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/92006/Ten-things-you-never-knew-about-patents http://kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-patents/ L®NDON IP