Wipe your body odor away.  That was the claim of the inventors of the Reviver Wipes on Shark Tank.  The product actually sounds like a good idea and there’s a good summary on The Reviver Web site at http://www.reviver.com/.  If you’ve ever gone to the gym and gotten really sweaty and smelly, but didn’t have time to shower, then this product is for you.  Personally, I take a shower before I leave the gym, but I see plenty of others who don’t when they really should.

I can’t vouch for the product, but I can comment on their patent claims.  During their presentation on Shark Tank, the inventors said they were really proud of their patent applications.  They, like most presenters on Shark Tank, made it sound like they had the rights to these wipes all buttoned up, and that they could stop any competition.  With the Reviver Wipes, this is far from the case.  When I checked the patent office database, it looks like they filed a patent application in 2007, yet they let it go abandoned.  They then filed four cases in September 2012.  Aside from the fact that their first application went abandon (but can still be used against them in their later filed cases), I am really skeptical that they are going to get much protection–at least not enough to keep out any meaningful competition.

None of the four applications has yet to be substantiavely examined, so they don’t have any patent rights yet.  It could be years before they get any.  I say this because their initial set of claims are really broad.  For example, I’ve listed two of them:

1. A clothing wipe, comprising: a mixture of polyethylene glycol (PEG), glycerin, and a fragrance, said mixture deposited as a dry formulation on a surface of a handheld applicator.

15. A reusable clothing wipe for freshening a person’s clothing, comprising: a handheld applicator having a first outer surface; and a dry odor neutralizing formulation deposited on said surface of said applicator.

While the patent office does on occasion let patents through that they shouldn’t, I don’t think they will mess up on these.  Their other applications have similar claims.

Bottom line: kudos for shooting for the moon, but I don’t think they are going to get there.  If I were an investor, I wouldn’t give them much value.

Even so, I still think the product is a good idea.  I wish them the best of luck.