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Patents
xCraft’s Claims on Shark Tank
This past week, xCraft touted some pretty amazing drone designs. The company execs, Charles Manning and JD Claridge, were able to secure millions from all of the Sharks–very unusual. They have two products. One is for a drone that can take off like a helicopter and move forward like an aircraft. The other is for…
Is the Beebo Infant Feeder Patent Any Good?
The new season of Shark Tank led off with a product invented by Martin Hill called Beebo (orginally named Boobo, but Martin’s wife wouldn’t have any part of that name). Lori and Ashton put up a combined $200,000 to get the project off the ground. The Beebo is a tool parents can use to feed…
Cadavers on Shark Tank – Meet Syndaver
This week’s episode of Shark Tank featured a human cadaver—or a fake cadaver made from synthetic human flesh. With this invention, research and teaching institutions may not need to worry about procuring dead bodies. No matter the cost is about $40,000, Robert Herjavec was still really interested in doing a deal. This even though the…
Lori Greiner’s Claims on Shark Tank
I usually try and watch the weekly episode of Shark Tank. During the intros, I notice that Lori is touted as being the inventor of over 100 patents. That is quite a feat, one that very few inventors obtain. With all that she has going on, I really doubted these claims. So, I did a…
The Reviver Wipes on Shark Tank
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…
Kronos Putter On Shark Tank
When I saw this pitch last week I could only cringe. The company is called Kronos Golf and they sell customized putters. Over the last twenty years as a patent attorney, the two most popular inventions to cross my desk are heated windshield wipers and improved golf putters. When I firsts became a patent attorney, I was told to…
The Battle of the Single Serve Wine Glass on Shark Tank
The single biggest deal on Shark Tank was landed this week when Kevin O’Leary shelled out $2.5 million for a mere ten percent stake in Zipz. Evidently, Mr. Wonderful wants to be a big player in the wine business. After all, he does belong to a secret wine society. What I find interesting about the…
Titin Weight Shirts on Shark Tank
Halloween’s airing of Shark Tank included the founder of a company called Titin, a maker of weight training equipment. The unique twist is that this is equipment you wear. Founder Patrick Whaley explained that it was a shirt with weights incorporated into the fabric so as to be positioned over the chest. He said this…
Jungle Jumparoo – Certainly Nothing New
We’re into the new season on Shark Tank, but not too many patent issues have come up. Most of the ideas I’ve seen so far really don’t have any patent implications—clothing stores, female golf caddies, etc. But, the Jungle Jumparoo segment last night caught my attention—mostly for the blatant misconceptions about patent law. I always laugh…