Cooperative Patent Classification Project

The USPTO and EPO have launched a website for information about the Cooperative Patent Classification Project, which aims to create a shared patent classification system based on ECLA.

New Bio: Inventor Hedy Lamarr

Inventor/actress Hedy Lamarr is the subject of a new bio by Richard Rhodes:

Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. New York: Doubleday, 2011.

In 1942 Lamarr and composer George Antheil patented (US 2292387) a "secret communication system" designed to prevent enemies from jamming radio-controlled torpedoes. The invention was based on radio "frequency-hopping" and forms the basis of modern wireless communications systems. Lamarr's patent has been cited in 36 patents since 1976, including most recently in US 8031129, and in ~70 documents indexed in Google Scholar.

Ed Pauls, Inventor of the NordicTrack

Ed Pauls, inventor of the NordicTrack cross-country ski exerciser, died last month at the age of 80. He patented his ski machine in 1977 (US 4,023,795). Pauls was not the first inventor to conceive of an exercise machine that simulated skiing. However, his design was small and portable enough to be used in most homes.  

The success of the NordicTrack inspired numerous other designs. In 1980, just a few years after Pauls received his patent, the USPTO issued just 179 patents for exercise machines (Class 482). By the end of the 1990s the USPTO was issuing more than 350 patents for exercise machines per year. In 2010, the USPTO issued 736 patents for exercise devices. The top patent owners include Nautilus, Icon IP and Brunswick Corporation.

There are more than 17,000 patents classified in Class 482, 33 percent issued since 2000. The earliest patent in the class was issued on Sept. 9, 1825 to John Tustin of Philadelphia for a railroad turntable design. The first patent for a true "exercising machine", US 3,480, was issued on March 13, 1844 to Oliver Halsted of New York.