Get into the holiday spirit with a look at some of the most unique Christmas patents ever filed. From Santa detectors to upside-down Christmas trees, Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg explore festive inventions that add a little extra cheer to the season on this episode of The Briefing.
Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel.
Show Notes:
Scott:
Welcome to a special holiday edition of The Briefing. Today, we are decking the Halls with a look at some of the most unique Christmas-related patents ever filed, at least in my opinion. That's right, the spirit of invention doesn't take a break during the holiday season. I'm Scott Hervey, a partner with the law firm of Weintraub Tobin, and I'm joined today by my colleague, Jamie Lincenberg. We are going to examine these festive follies of intellectual property. So grab your eggnog, snuggle up, and let's dive into five truly unique Christmas-themed patents on today's installment of The Briefing.
Jamie, welcome back. Are you ready for this? Do you have your Santa hat nearby?
Jamie:
I'll grab it in a minute, but you have to put yours on, too. Okay.
Scott:
Well, I don't happen to have one nearby, unfortunately. That was really a mistake in prepping for this episode. I really should have brought my Santa hat. Oh, well. Okay. First, let's just point out, neither of us are patent lawyers. This is really more for humor than anything else. Second, I want to point out in doing my research for this episode, there are a lot of Christmas patents out there.
Jamie:
Well, that makes sense. Scott, Christmas is a big business.
Scott:
It is. It This is a big business. All right, so kicking things off, let's talk about the Santa detector. Every kid wants to try to spot Santa, and this device purports to give kids an edge on the elusive elf. This patent, filed in 1996, is for a device designed to detect Santa Claus entering your home. I mean, isn't that what the ring camera and ADT is all about, too? This patent application says, In the minds of young children, Santa Claus's arrival is denoted by the presence of Christmas presents under the tree and/or Christmas stockings filled with treats or cold, depending upon whether you're good or bad. That was not in the patent application. That was my ad lib. The patent continues on. However, none of these customary practices nor any prior art arrangements known to the applicant provides a Christmas stocking that is capable of being selectively illuminated to signal the arrival of Santa Claus. This ingenious gadget uses motion detectors, sound sensors, and even a Christmas tree light to trigger to alert an eager kids when the big man makes himself available. It's like a ring, doorbell for Santa, only much less practical.
Jamie:
Imagine the chaos if it went off every time Uncle Bob wandered into the living room for another round of Christmas cheer.
Scott:
Oh, yes, I'm sure everybody has an Uncle Bob. Unfortunately, though, Jamie, it seems that kids will have to use a less high-tech mechanism for spying on Santa. This patent expired in 2014 due to failure to pay maintenance fees.
Jamie:
Well, maybe the inventor was on the naughty list.
Scott:
Oh, maybe he was.
Jamie:
This next one seems very practical. For people that If you don't live in California and Arizona, where it tends to be in the mid '70s all December long, this patent application is for a Christmas tree watering system, which aims to solve the age-old problem of crawling under your tree to add water. It's a simple setup, a water reservoir in the shape of Santa with a water hose that extends from it to another hidden reservoir under the tree. Functional? Sure. Festive? Absolutely. Creepy? 100%. No one wants to see a water hose extending from Santa's rear end that doubles as a tripping hazard at 2 AM after the office holiday party.
Scott:
That's right. I love that. The picture that's in the patent application here.