Category: Chair Moments

Funny IP related stories. The name is a nod to the time someone fell asleep during a patent searching presentation and literally fell out of their chair. The story is here.

Disston’s Jigsaw Patent!

Here’s an unexpected patent, assigned to a well-known manufacturer of hand saws. 1,995,959 issued March 26, 1935, Die For Cutting Puzzles and Like Cut-Outs by Arthur N. Blum of Philadelphia, PA assignor to Henry Disston & Sons, Incorporated. The main object of my invention is to provide an outfit for cutting out jigsaw puzzles and … Continue reading “Disston’s Jigsaw Patent!”

A Rookie Mistake

There are around 11,000 registration certificates that are not online. They correspond to dead trademarks that have no legal standing. I was researching tool companies that held some of these missing trademarks. I requested copies from the patent office through a patent librarian I know. On one request I mixed up the serial number and … Continue reading “A Rookie Mistake”

Someone I know

I was adding Lee Valley Tools’, a modern day tool manufacturer, patents to datamp.org when I came across a patentee who is a member of my tool club! The first name was different but the middle name, the name I know him by, and last name were the same as was the small town in … Continue reading “Someone I know”

Patent Office Tie

A few years ago I spoke to a group of patent librarians who were at the patent office for a training seminar. Three things horrified me when I checked in and opened an otherwise innocent looking manila envelope. The first was the attendees list showing the number of people that I’d be speaking to. I … Continue reading “Patent Office Tie”

Prior Art

I previously posted my origin story but it turns out to be not quite true as I found prior art! I thought finding an antique router plane was what triggered my interest in patents, that was until I visited my parents. They still live in the house I grew up in. On a shelf was … Continue reading “Prior Art”

Ralph’s marking gauge

I’m not normally a devious person, or at least I usually don’t act on what the hilarious devil on my shoulder whispers in my ear. This story would be an exception. Ordinarily it is hard to find humor in intellectual property, hopefully you will see it here. My friend Ralph was into collecting patented marking … Continue reading “Ralph’s marking gauge”

My Origin Story

Quite a few years ago now, I came across an antique router (the pictured woodworking tool, before ones with power cords were invented) with a patent date on it. I knew that my friend Ralph was into patent searching so how hard could it be? I tried to make sense of the US patent office’s … Continue reading “My Origin Story”

A slight misunderstanding

Here is another, hopefully funny, Intellectual Property related story. There is not a lot of humor in IP so when it does occur it should be shared, even if it puts its author in not the best light… Hathi Trust is an online library that currently has over 17 million scanned books. It’s based at … Continue reading “A slight misunderstanding”

Chair Moments

I’ve mentioned my friend Ralph (seated in the photo) in a previous post or two. More than a few years ago, the two of us did a patent searching presentation for the antique tool collectors club that we both belonged to (Midwest Tool Collectors Association, mwtca.org). It was an hour long presentation during a three … Continue reading “Chair Moments”