Some celebrities aren’t just pretty faces. A few of them are also touched with that Yankee prowess for tinkering and invention. In this weekly series, we introduce you to the Patents of the Rich and Famous. And maybe you learn a little bit about how patent literature works along the way. Inventor: Frank Gehry Known For: Unlike most building designers, Gehry is a household name — he’s a starchitect. From the Guggenheim in Bilbao to his own home, the deconstructed curves of Gehry’s buildings stand out. With a knack for design, Gehry has branched out into furniture construction, too. Like his buildings, his lounging creations are stylish. Invented Apparatus: ” Article of furniture or the like ” Looks just like a regular chair. Sure, it’s Gehry-esque with its curvy back. But what really makes this chair special? Well, it’s made of cardboard. According to the preferred embodiment of the above mentioned US pat. Application Ser. No. 73,0005, an article of furniture is made by forming a block of cross-laminated corrugated cardboard sheets, and then simultaneously cutting all of the sheets in the block to “sculpture” the article from the block. Gehry created a line of ” Easy Edges ” furniture, which contained pieces made from corrugated cardboard. Rationale Behind Invention: As the patent describes, cardboard is cheap, sturdy and produces aesthetically interesting pieces. The furniture produced by this technique is inexpensive yet strong and durable; moreover, a wide variety of interesting and attractive shapes can be formed. Perhaps most important from an aesthetic point of view is the unusual texture of the finished surface of the article formed by the adjacent cut edges of the cardboard sheets. Interesting buildings deserve interesting furniture. The curvaceous cardboard creations suit Gehry’s aesthetic. Off-Label Uses: In package sending desperation, you realize you don’t have an appropriate size box for your goods. In a frenzy, you grab your exacto knife and repurpose your stylish chair into a parcel for your post — oops. Future Directions: This chair may look cool, but it could use a few accoutrements. Like a cup holder, massager and heated seats to start. Peruse more Celebrity Inventions .

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Celebrity Invention: Frank Gehry’s Cardboard Chairs

The Bloomberg administration’s plan to bring a major sciences and engineering campus to New York is an excellent idea, provided it’s done right, an economist writes.

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Economix: Education and Urban Reinvention

Some celebrities aren’t just pretty faces. A few of them are also touched with that Yankee prowess for tinkering and invention. In this weekly series, we introduce you to the Patents of the Rich and Famous. And maybe you learn a little bit about how patent literature works along the way. Inventor: Marc Jacobs Known For:  Jacobs is a designer. He designs couture garments for his Marc Jacobs line, he designs almost-affordable mainstream clothing for his Marc by Marc Jacobs line. He designs shoes, purses and handbags. He designs “Marc by Marc Jacobs for Marc Jacobs” (trying saying that ten times, fast) accessories. He holds many patents for his creations — most of them design patents. But he also holds a non-design patent for this more intricate piece. Invented Apparatus: ” Ring with hidden internal compartments ” It’s a ring outfitted with compartments for hiding things. The present invention relates to a ring and, more particularly, to a ring having a plurality of hidden internal compartments for concealing small articles. The ring contains outer and inner parts, which rotate opposite one another. The inside ring contains nooks for storage, which are only accessible by removing the ring and rotating the parts until proper alignment is reached, revealing the secret compartments. Rationale Behind Invention: Rings with secret compartments existed long before this designer came along. But Jacobs decided that he had to conceive of his own because the old models weren’t suitable; the compartments weren’t secret enough. Jacob wanted to create a ring that would safely hold tiny, precious items: Such rings are not suitable for secret storage of valuables, such as small diamonds or other small articles, first, because an inspection of the ring easily reveals the presence of the hidden compartment, and second, the hidden compartment can easily be opened even while the ring is being worn. Jacob created designer jewelry that doubled as a safe for valuables. According to a Los Angeles Times article , Jacobs created the design, which he called a Rattle Ring, to hold loose gems so celebrities like Debbie Harry could carry around their extra ice. Off-Label Uses: It’s hard to believe that the wealthy didn’t store other rocks in the ring’s hidden compartments. Future Directions: If Jacobs expects people to store their most valuable wares, we bet his customers would appreciate a little more security. Instead of allowing access to the secret compartments with a simple rotation, Jacobs should add some sort of security system. Maybe a retina eye-scan or fingerprint identification system. Or maybe just a simple combination lock. Peruse more Celebrity Inventions .

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Celebrity Invention: Designer Marc Jacobs’ Secret Stash Ring

Some celebrities aren’t just pretty faces. A few of them are also touched with that Yankee prowess for tinkering and invention. In this weekly series, we introduce you to the Patents of the Rich and Famous. And maybe you learn a little bit about how patent literature works along the way. Inventor: Andy Warhol Known For: A founder of the pop art movement, Warhol is probably best remembered for his bright colored screen printing series of iconic celebrities and brands, like Marylin Monroe and Campbell’s soup cans. Known as much for his persona as his art, Warhol was a deeply eccentric man with loud hair and a transgressive sense of celebrity. Beyond commercially producing tons of art, Warhol dabbled in other artsy industries, founding Interview magazine and The Velvet Underground, a ’60s experimental rock band. He coined the phrase “15 minutes of fame;” his exact birth date is unknown; and he invented a five-faced watch. Invented Apparatus: ” Watch ” It’s the Andy Warhol version of a watch: the same face, over and over again. Rationale Behind Invention:   A design patent, the literature doesn’t contain an explanation of why Warhol wanted a patent for this particular invention. But, as with Warhol’s other series, we suspect it had something to do with a critique of American consumerism, or the relativity of time, or whatever. Off-Label Uses: Let’s be honest, if you could buy this watch, it would be to diversify your investment portfolio. Future Directions: Why stop at the watch? You could bring the five-screen approach to the iPhone. Of course, you’d only use one, but the other four could show off your latest Instagrams. Peruse more celebrity inventions .

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Celebrity Invention: Andy Warhol’s Five-Faced Watch

Some celebrities aren’t just pretty faces. A few of them are also touched with that Yankee prowess for tinkering and invention. In this weekly series, we introduce you to the Patents of the Rich and Famous. And maybe you learn a little bit about how patent literature works along the way. Inventor: Harry Connick, Jr. Known For: December 25th is just weeks away, meaning we’re at the height of Christmas music season. While you might spring for Mariah Carey’s popular ” All I Want For Christmas ,” or pop in a classic, like Bing Crosby’s ” White Christmas ,” it’s equally likely that you’ll snuggle in front of a fire wrapping presents while listening to one of the best-selling Christmas albums of the last decade: Harry Connick Jr.’s When My Heart Finds Christmas . Just in case you’re unfamiliar with Connick, or his tunes, this delightful video should catch you up and also get you into the holiday spirit: Besides producing popular Christmas standards, Connick is known for his acting in movies ( Hope Floats , Independence Day ), on Television ( Will & Grace ), and on stage ( The Pajama Game ). But his real jam is music. Connick attended the Manhattan School of Music after which he provided the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally . Since then, he has received three Grammy’s and produced almost 30 albums. Invented Apparatus: ” System and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra ” It’s digital sheet music: The present invention is an improved user interface and system that allows a conductor or composer to interactively modify a musical score and to transmit the modifications to individual musicians or selected groups of musicians in an orchestra. In the 21st Century — that patent was granted in 2001 — this seems to make sense. Specifically, it’s a touch screen system that both the conductor and the musicians use during performances. The orchestra’s members read the music off of a screen, and if the conductor wishes, he can also make edits to the score during the performance, which will then translate to all of the other active screens. Rationale Behind Invention: Haven’t you heard? Print is dead. The use of such printed sheet music has resulted in certain disadvantages, such as the need to turn pages, the risk of losing pages, and the time-consuming task of making edits or changes to musical scores, which may involve reprinting the score. In addition, the use of printed sheet music limits the ability of the conductor of the orchestra to make changes during a rehearsal, concert or performance, and also unduly restricts the composition process. Connick wasn’t the first to recognize the benefits of digitizing sheet music. But, he not only envisioned an electronic music editing system, he also hoped for a system that would allow instant electronic editing during performances. That is, none of these systems allow the conductor to work with a computerized device in the same fashion as if working with hard copy of sheet music and to fully control the extent to which others in an orchestra receive and view modifications to a score on an automatic, real-time bases. Furthermore, there is no fully integrated music display system that is self-contained, ergonomically designed, flexibly reconfigured, or easily transported. Off-Label Uses: We bet some tech savvy hooligans would steal this device, hack into the system, and ruin a high-school orchestra performance by changing the score to something equal parts nerdy and scandalous. Future Directions: Wouldn’t it be nice if the electronic music editing software played the new composition for you? Peruse more Celebrity Inventions .

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Celebrity Invention: Harry Connick Jr.’s Digital Sheet Music

Surprise – Feds Support Ruling Against Biotech Gene Patents read more

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News in Brief: Feds Support Ruling Against Biotech Gene Patents, and More …