ON THE WEB: PATENTLY SILLY The rules for patenting an invention are that it must be unique, it must be unobvious, and it must be useful. The first two categories are fairly easy to define, but usefulness is a more slippery definition. Some very silly inventions slip through, and the web site Patently Silly celebrates the daftest of the daft by publishing the details of stupid patents issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office. For example: a cordless jump rope, a simulated wedding cake, and a process for Utilization of Ruminant Animal Methane Emissions - yes, that does mean cow farts! Read and giggle, on the Patently Silly web site. |