David E. Rook

06/21/2024

The wonderful people I work with. Hoffman Warnick LLC. Intellectual property law (patents, trademarks, copyrights). Celebrating 25 years.

01/31/2024

“Sarah Breedlove / Madam C. J. Walker (1867 - 1919)

Sarah Breedlove was the first child of her family born after the Emancipation Proclamation — and she would go on to become the first female self-made millionaire in the United States! Married and widowed by the age of 20, she was working as a laundress when she realized that she, and many other black women, struggled with hair loss and scalp diseases due to a lack of indoor plumbing and harsh ingredients in hair products. Over several years, she developed her own line of hair care products specifically designed for African American hair, and branded them with her new identity as Madam C. J. Walker; the title was deliberately chosen to evoke Parisian luxury. When her line was ready for sale, she also set up a college to train "hair culturists," creating a new employment opportunity for thousands of African American women. As her wealth and influence grew, Madam Walker brought them to bear on social and political issues and made donations to African American schools, orphanages, and retirement homes. Her legacy, thought, is one of perseverance; she famously said, "If I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard."

https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12223

01/31/2024

“The light bulb itself was perfected by Thomas Edison, but the innovation used to create longer-lasting light bulbs with a carbon filament came from African American inventor Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved people, began work in a patent law firm after serving in the military for the Union during the Civil War. He was recognized for his talent in drafting patents and was promoted to head draftsman, where he co-invented an improved bathroom for railroad trains.

His successes would garner him further attention from the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, putting him at a company in direct competition with Edison, in 1880. While there, Latimer patented a new filament for the light bulb, using carbon instead of more combustible materials, like bamboo, that was commonly used for filaments. The addition of the carbon filament increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs, which had previously died after just a few days. In 1884, he went on to work with Edison at the Edison Electric Light Company.”

https://www.history.com/news/8-black-inventors-african-american

01/31/2024

Some inventors are killed by their inventions.

“William Nelson (c. 1879–1903), a General Electric employee, invented a new way to motorize bicycles. He then fell off his prototype bike during a test run.”

This is a list of people whose deaths were in some manner caused by or related to a product, process, procedure, or other technological innovation that they invented, designed, or substantially helped to create.

01/30/2024

"I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success." Nikola Tesla

01/27/2024

“All human invention is the manipulation of nature towards practical uses by humans on this planet. We can exclude nature itself but any human intervention and manipulation, that is what human innovation and engineering is and it should be eligible for a patent.” – Andrei Iancu

Interesting developments for the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023.

US Supreme Court decisions over the last 15 years in Mayo, Myriad and Alice significantly altered patent eligibility.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property today held a hearing featuring eight witnesses who testified about the need to restore certainty to U.S. patent eligibility law. Most, but not all, agreed such a need exists and urged quick passage of the Patent Eligibility Res...

01/27/2024

"Creativity is intelligence having fun."

Albert Einstein

01/27/2024

I became curious and didn’t want to wait to solve the words around it.

“Alfred Mosher Butts (April 13, 1899 – April 4, 1993) was an American architect, famous for inventing the board game Scrabble in 1938.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Mosher_Butts

01/26/2024

“All creative people want to do the unexpected.”

Hedy Lamarr

01/26/2024

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

Richard Feynman

01/26/2024

“Carbon Light Bulb Filament, Invented by Lewis Latimer in 1881”

“The light bulb itself was perfected by Thomas Edison, but the innovation used to create longer-lasting light bulbs with a carbon filament came from African American inventor Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved people, began work in a patent law firm after serving in the military for the Union during the Civil War. He was recognized for his talent in drafting patents and was promoted to head draftsman, where he co-invented an improved bathroom for railroad trains.

His successes would garner him further attention from the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, putting him at a company in direct competition with Edison, in 1880. While there, Latimer patented a new filament for the light bulb, using carbon instead of more combustible materials, like bamboo, that was commonly used for filaments. The addition of the carbon filament increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs, which had previously died after just a few days. In 1884, he went on to work with Edison at the Edison Electric Light Company.”

Black inventors changed the way we live through their brilliant innovations, from the traffic light to the ironing board.

01/25/2024

“The Three-Light 🚦 Traffic Signal” Invented by Garrett Morgan in 1923

“Garrett Augustus Morgan Sr. (March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963) was an American inventor, businessman, and community leader. His most notable inventions were a type of three-way traffic light, and a protective 'smoke hood' notably used in a 1916 tunnel construction disaster rescue.[Morgan also discovered and developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution. He created a successful company called "G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company" based on his hair product inventions along with a complete line of haircare products and became involved in the civic and political advancement of African Americans, especially in and around Cleveland, Ohio.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Morgan

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/garrett-morgan-patents-three-position-traffic-signal

On November 20, 1923, the U.S. Patent Office grants Patent No. 1,475,074 to 46-year-old inventor and newspaperman Garrett Morgan for his three-position traffic signal. Though Morgan’s was not the first traffic signal (that one had been installed in London in 1868), it was an important innovation n...