Who really invented Liquid Paper?

[Jimmy Snyder]

Just yesterday we signed the assignment document.

Things are going swimmingly. The patent has been 'allowed' by the USPTO. The next step is to pay the patent issue fee. This should take place before May 29. Then it is expected that the patent will be issued about three months after the payment. The application was made in July, 2003.

 

[GCT]

He always had a jar of M&Ms in his office (provided gratis on a regular basis by a grateful company) that he handed out to everyone that came by. We also got free samples of clumping kitty litter from another company for 'quality control' purposes. It always seemed to clump.

Southwest Research Institute - so were you guys collegues?

 

[chemisttree]

Southwest Research Institute - so were you guys collegues?

My office was right next door to him. I miss the M&M's too.

 

[GCT]

That makes more sense - from the discussions so far it sounded as if you were an avant admirer rather than a close colleague. You must have learned a lot from working with such a talented scientist.

My condolences...

 

[chemisttree]

Things are going swimmingly. The patent has been 'allowed' by the USPTO. The next step is to pay the patent issue fee. This should take place before May 29. Then it is expected that the patent will be issued about three months after the payment. The application was made in July, 2003.

Congratulations, Jimmy! Five years is a little long to wait but it isn't unheard of. There must have been a lot of back and forth between your lawyers and the USPTO examiner. My most recent patent atty. likes to draw out the process (and increase her billing). I wonder how long my next atty. will take...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Congratulations, Jimmy! Five years is a little long to wait but it isn't unheard of. There must have been a lot of back and forth between your lawyers and the USPTO examiner. My most recent patent atty. likes to draw out the process (and increase her billing). I wonder how long my next atty. will take...

Thanks. The reason this took so long is that the main idea had already been patented in Australia. So even though our idea was original, we weren't the first to have this original idea. We made more than 120 claims, of which only a little less than 50 survived the process. A claim is like this: if you invented the teacup, you could claim it can be used for coffee too. If you don't make the claim, someone else can. And that is why we got the patent, we claimed things that they didn't.

 

[Moonbear]

Congratulations, Jimmy! Five years is a little long to wait but it isn't unheard of. There must have been a lot of back and forth between your lawyers and the USPTO examiner. My most recent patent atty. likes to draw out the process (and increase her billing). I wonder how long my next atty. will take...

My boyfriend is a patent atty, and from all his grumbling, it's the examiners that draw things out. On the other hand, he says that if a patent goes through too easily, you know you've done something wrong...like make the claims so narrow that they offer virtually no protection at all. It's sort of like a game of the Price is Right...you want to get as close as you can to the other patents without going over.

 

[chemisttree]

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...,419,942.PN.&OS=PN/7,419,942&RS=PN/7,419,942"

 

[out of whack]

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...,419,942.PN.&OS=PN/7,419,942&RS=PN/7,419,942"

I want to see YouTube clips of this used on a raucous crowd. It should be a riot!

 

[tribdog]

I would say it was 50-50 as far as the ideas that were flowing at that time. However, it was he who had the big break-through idea that is the basis of the patent.

so it was 50-50 between you three inventors? you are going to have a hard time splitting that dollar.

 

[chemisttree]

I want to see YouTube clips of this used on a raucous crowd. It should be a riot!

It was a riot! Have you ever seen a General (or was that a Colnel) slip and fall flat on his rear guard? Priceless!
A special walker was designed to hold the tethered test subject slightly off the ground when they slipped. It didn't work as hoped...