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Harry Houdini received a patent in 1921 for a diver's suit.
His diver's suit was meant to allow a deep-sea diver to remove the
suit by himself if he was in danger. While Houdini could escape from
just about any type of device, he realized that others could not.
Comedian Danny Kaye received a patent in 1952 for a toy that
used one mouthpiece to simultaneously unfurl three blow-out paper
snakes used at birthday parties.
Steve McQueen was awarded a patent on the bucket seats used
in his Ford Mustang in the 1968 movie "Bullitt."
Actress Julie Newmar, who wore a skin-tight outfit in her
role as Catwoman in the old "Batman" TV series, patented
ultra-sheer, ultra-snug pantyhose. She appeared in the movie "To
Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Love Julie Newmar" and on TV for
guest appearances in "Bewitched," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and
"Star Trek" in the 1960s and most recently in "Melrose Place."
Celebrity mom Christie Brinkley created a set of educational
blocks for kids.
Director Steven Spielberg received a design patent in 1998
for a switch used on mobile camera equipment.
Musicians Eddie Van Halen and Harry Connick Jr.
also received patents on their inventions. Van Halen's patent was
for a hands-free guitar support, while Connick received Patent
6,348,648 in 2002 for his method of displaying written music on
computer screens. "It basically eliminates old-fashioned sheet
music," said Connick.
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What do celebrities know about inventing that the rest of us
don't?
Absolutely nothing!
It's not that hard to get a patent. In fact, it reminds me of the
true story of a man who wanted to prove that almost anyone could
become a Kentucky colonel if he had good credentials. So he sent in
an application for his dog to become a colonel, and sure enough, his
dog became a Kentucky colonel.
Anyone can receive a patent as long as the idea is new, useful
and non-obvious. The average cost is around $4,000.
You probably noticed that each of our celebrity inventors created
products that relate to their careers. It is common to create
products that relate to your own particular area of expertise. Yet,
while it's not hard to get a patent, making a profit from your new
invention is very hard -- and rare. Fewer than 3 percent of all
patents ever produce a profit for the inventor.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2006
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