Per Dave McClaughry’s post at his new music industry-related patent blog, the recently deceased Michael Jackson was listed as a co-inventor on U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,452, titled “Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion”.  As stated in the post, Jackson’s patent “expired before he did, for failure to pay the 3rd maintenance fee”.   There is also a nice video at the post of the invention being used in a music video for his song “Smooth Criminal”.

Jackson’s patent was previously featured in our “They Invented What?” series of posts here (TIW? No. 92).

U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,459:  Excrement receptacle device for animals.

I claim:

1. An excrement receptacle device for an animal comprising: a harness for support of the device on an animal, a hollow conduit tube having forward and rearward portions and constructed of a material which provides a normal self-sustaining shape for said tube in which an open tubular passageway is formed in the tube extending from the said forward to the said rearward portion of the tube, means on said harness for supporting said conduit tube in a fixed operative position in which the said forward portion of the tube is adjacent the anal region of the animal and entirely below the tail thereof, a flexible container, means attaching the flexible container to the conduit tube such that the flexible container extends from the said rearward portion of the tube and is in communication with the interior of the tube, said conduit tube including an upper portion made of flexible resilient material for yieldably collapsing when contacted by the animal’s tail and resuming its original normal shape when the animal’s tail is raised in the act of defecating to provide said open passageway in the tube to the container.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube includes a lower portion having substantially greater rigidity than said upper portion.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising means on the forward portion of the tube for engaging the the area surrounding the anal region of the animal when said tube is in said operative position.

4. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 1, said conduit tube having a thickened base portion and a relatively thin, resilient and flexible tubular upper portion, whereby said upper portion will be adapted for flexing downwardly toward said base and laterally in opposite directions.

5. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 4, said container being made of flexible material and extending rearwardly from and being supported by said tube and being closed at the rearmost end, and closure means attached to the forward portion of said container, said closure means being movable between an inoperative to an operative closure position with respect to said container.

6. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 4, the foremost portion of said tube having a peripheral flange and an annular pad of soft deformable material positioned upon and supported in an exterior position by said flange, said pad being proportioned and positioned for engaging the area surrounding the anal region of the animal when said conduit tube is in its said operative position.

7. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 6, said peripheral flange being substantially concave in cross-section, whereby it forms a depressed seat for said annular pad.

8. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 6, said container being made of flexible material and being attached to and extending rearwardly from said tube, said pad being attached to the forward peripheral portion of said container, said pad being movable from its position on said flange to a closure position within said tube, means attached to said pad for operatively moving it from said position on said flange to its said closure position, said pad being deformable into a closure position proportioned for fitting within said tube.

9. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 8, said means attached to said pad comprising a drawstring within the body thereof and extending rearwardly therefrom through said tube and outwardly therefrom for manual grasping, whereby a rearward operative pull on said string will operatively move said pad into said tube and contract it into said closure position.

10. An excrement receptacle device for an animal, comprising a conduit tube, holding means for supporting the forward portion of said tube in an operative position in adjacent relation to the anal region of the animal and below the tail thereof, a container attached to said tube and in communication with the interior thereof, a combination deformable pad and tube closure member of ring-like configuration positioned at the front of said tube along an outer peripheral portion thereof, said container being made of flexible material and being attached to and extending rearwardly from said tube, said pad being attached to the forward peripheral portion of said container, said member being movable from said outer portion to an inner portion of the tube, means attached to said member and extending outwardly from said tube for operatively moving said member from the said outer peripheral portion to said inner portion of the tube, said member being deformable into a contracted closure position when operatively within said tube.

11. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 10, the foremost portion of said tube having a peripheral flange, said combination member being positioned upon and supported by said flange, said means attached to said combination member comprising a drawstring extending through the body of said member and rearwardly along the interior of said tube and having an outwardly extending portion for manual grasping, whereby a rearward operative pull on said string will contract said member and move it to its said inner closure position.

12. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 11, said flexible container being attached to the inner wall of said tube and having the foremost peripheral portion thereof overlapping a portion of said peripheral flange and in underlying engagement with and secured to said ring-like combination member, whereby both said member and the attached peripheral portion of said container will together be drawn into said tube upon an operative pull of said drawstring.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,607: Scented doll with the appearance of an aged person.

What is claimed is:

1. A doll comprising: a permeable body covering, wherein said permeable body covering includes a torso portion, a pair of arm portions, a pair of leg portions, and wherein said permeable body covering is sewn to form a closed structure; an internal structure within said closed structure of said permeable body covering emitting a perfume fragrance through said permeable body covering; and a head portion including a core and a flexible cover stretched over said core, wherein said flexible cover includes a lower portion stretched and gathered together to form a narrowed neck attached to said torso portion, and wherein said flexible cover includes external folds emulating an appearance of an aged person including folds formed within said lower portion of said flexible cover.

2. The doll of claim 1, wherein said core includes contoured features forming features in said flexible cover emulating facial features of a person as said flexible cover is pulled over said core, and said external folds emulating an appearance of an aged person include folds in said flexible cover extending from said facial features.

3. The doll of claim 1, additionally comprising an elongated member extending through said narrowed neck between said core and said torso portion.

4. The doll of claim 3, wherein said internal structure comprises a plurality of pellets stuffing and shaping said body covering, and said pellets are coated with a fragrant oil.

5. The doll of claim 3, 4 wherein said pellets are composed of polypropylene.

6. The doll of claim 1, wherein said permeable body covering is composed of a cloth material.

7. A doll comprising: a stuffed body portion including a torso portion, a pair of arm portions, and a pair of leg portions, and a head portion including a core and a flexible cover stretched over said core, wherein said flexible cover includes a lower portion stretched and gathered together to form a narrowed neck attached to said torso portion, wherein said core includes contoured features forming features in said flexible cover emulating facial features of a person as said flexible cover is pulled over said core, wherein said flexible cover includes folds extending from said features in said core, and wherein said lower portion includes folds formed to emulate external features of an aged person.

8. A packaged product comprising a doll including a permeable body covering having a torso portion, a pair of arm portions, and a pair of leg portions, an internal structure within said body covering emitting a perfume fragrance through said permeable body covering, wherein said permeable body covering is sewn to form a closed structure around said internal structure, and a head portion including a core and a flexible cover stretched over said core, wherein said flexible cover includes a lower portion stretched and gathered together to form a narrowed neck attached to said torso portion, and wherein said flexible cover includes external folds emulating an appearance of an aged person including folds formed within said lower portion of said flexible cover; and a card including printed material identifying said doll by name.

9. The doll of claim 8, wherein said permeable body covering is composed of a cloth material.

10. The doll of claim 8, wherein said internal structure comprises a plurality of pellets stuffing and shaping said body covering, and said pellets are coated with a fragrant oil.

11. The doll of claim 10, wherein said pellets are composed of polypropylene.

12. The doll of claim 8, wherein said core includes contoured features forming features in said flexible cover emulating facial features of a person as said flexible cover is pulled over said core, and said external folds emulating an appearance of an aged person include folds in said flexible cover extending from said facial features.

13. The doll of claim 8, additionally comprising an elongated member extending through said narrowed neck between said core and said torso portion.

Per this White House press release today.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:

David J. Kappos, Nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Mr. Kappos is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property Law, for IBM Corporation. Based in Armonk, New York, Mr. Kappos directs IBM’s Intellectual Property Law function, providing legal counsel over all facets of protecting and licensing IBM’s intellectual property assets and leading IBM’s engagement of intellectual property law policy issues. In particular, Mr. Kappos is responsible for the management of IBM’s patent and trademark portfolios; protecting and licensing intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks, knowhow and technology) worldwide; directing intellectual property law operations relating to the research, services, consulting, computer systems, storage products, semiconductor and technology development, software, marketing and other groups, divisions, and entities within IBM. In addition, Mr. Kappos has responsibility for IP policy and coordination with IBM’s litigation and corporate development groups in matters relating to intellectual property. Mr. Kappos serves on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the International Intellectual Property Society. He is also the Vice President of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. He has held various previous leadership positions in intellectual property law associations in Asia and the U.S. He has spoken widely in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. on intellectual property topics. Mr. Kappos received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California Davis in 1983, and his law degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1990. He joined IBM in 1983 as a Development Engineer and has served as an Intellectual Property Law attorney in IBM’s Storage Division and Litigation group, as IP Law Counsel in IBM Software Group, as Assistant General Counsel in IBM Asia/Pacific, IBM Corporate Counsel and as Assistant General Counsel prior to his current position.

Burning the Ships, by Marshall Phelps and David Kline, provides a unique, behind-the-scenes insight into the decisions behind Microsoft’s internal evolution in intellectual property policy.  The reasons provided for the demise of the non-assertion of patents or “NAP” clause, for example, is particularly interesting. 

Phelps joined Microsoft after many years at IBM, where he orchestrated their highly successful licensing program.  At Microsoft, he overcame significant internal resistance and succeeded in causing Microsoft to collaborate with other companies.  

Of particular interest to those interested in building a corporate IP program are the objectives set forth in Phelp’s “5-year plan”, namely:

1. Build an outward-facing IP and licensing culture within the company;
2. Play a leading role in the global IP debates;
3. Develop closer coordination between the IP group and the technical development teams in the business units to help guide innovation strategy;
4. Better protect technologies by becoming a top-10 patentee;
5. Maximize the utilization of IP assets to support the companies business goals, standards efforts, and relations with open source and other firms; and
6. Use licensing revenue and cost optimization to fund IP&L’s expanded efforts.

As a negative, the authors’ perspective is certainly (understandably?) biased toward Microsoft.  There is also a lot of name-dropping throughout the book, and a certain amount of unnecessary repetition.  Overall, however, we enjoyed the book and would recommend it to our readers.