In the current world setup, intellectual property
is the hot property. This seems fine
when the inventors have worked their gray matter hard, staying up nights and
almost drowning in coffee, but things seem less reasonable when a sequence of
someone’s DNA is patented. This spills over to GMOs when their promiscuous
spreading of pollen contaminates other farmer’s crops, who then are liable to
be put out of business for patent infringement.
With ‘big bucks’ promised for your patents, the
patent offices are under increasing pressure to handle more and more and, as
nobody likes paying taxes, with less rather than more staff. So patents don’t
seem to be getting the detailed scrutiny that they once did. Reading some
recent patents can be fun (1).
There is an interesting one granted by the
Australian Patent Office for a Circular Transportation Facilitation Device to
John Keogh. The Patent Application Number is AU 2001100012 A4 and it has nice
pictures of an old style cartwheel and also a cart to put it on. I wonder if
the guy who dealt with the application walks to work?
Another one is a US patent that has been granted
just in time for the winter rush. This one was granted to Ignacio Aperas and
the Number is 8,011,991 B2. It is for a device to help make snowpeople – the
usual three-ball model – and consists of light spheres which can be coated with
snow.
The so old-fashioned solid type hurt the inventor’s
back and weren’t sufficiently spherical to satisfy his aesthetics, but he
rather missed the other advantage. Many of us live in areas where snowfall is
light and it’s difficult to make a large snowperson. Now we shall be able to,
as the light spheres only need a thin coating. I have already started saving
for my ‘Snowperson Maker Kit.’
