USPatentAndTrademark

Laura: No one on social media has told us they’ve recognized a family members’ patents during #CreepyIP yet. But among the staff, most of us will admit to doing a quick search of the archives to see if any of our relatives are listed there. Anyone can search them -- you can search by the inventors first and last name, and limit by date, so that’s one way to find out if “Uncle So-and-So who had a patent” actually did, and what the patent claimed to do.

In my office I have several copies of patents issued to my husband’s maternal grandfather. He worked for DuPont on fiber technology/science. He also invented something he called the “wrinkle-o-matic”, which was a device to scientifically measure how much natural fabrics wrinkled versus some of the new “wonder” fabrics of the time, like polyester!

Sometimes you also find weird things, like this hairdressing patent by “L.Larrimore” [Note: not me and not related to me] which are just neat. I printed out a copy and have it taped to my office door, next to my nameplate.

Nope. But you are welcome to search our patent archive --"Patent Full Text and Image Database" or trademark archive -- "TESS" in the privacy of your own home.

Paul R: Take a look at our Creepy IP photo album on the USPTO's Facebook page and you'll see all the examples of Creepy IP. Some are simply lighthearted things that align well with the Halloween spirit. Things that can make costumes more fun or pumpkins easier to carve. But there's definitely some darker stuff that has been patented over the years. Let's face it, death exists and for millennia people have come up with creative ways to deal with it -- either for comfort and solace, or for the health of the living. Many of these ideas that are novel, useful, and non-obvious can be patented.

Paul R: We don't look at government agencies being these monolithic things with only one way of doing stuff. We feel that if we can help the public to further engage with the services provided by their public institutions, that's a benefit. As communicators, we know that one way to do this is to break away from typical government-speak and "bureaucrat-ese" and find ways to connect with citizens in a way that's relevant. Doing something out of the ordinary or humorous can break expectations and that gets attention.

A few years ago, FEMA had a program to help people understand the importance of emergency preparedness by helping people understand what they need to do in case of a zombie apocalypse. Totally bogus, of course, but it got attention and the key message of being prepared was assuredly delivered to more people than if FEMA just played it safe. The fact is, the government (and the USPTO) is filled with creative people who are not afraid to do something a bit out of the ordinary to get results.

Liz: Kit Kats, always. I also wish more people handed out fun-sized bars of Skor.