Method of exercising a cat

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Figure 1 from "Method of exercising a cat."
Figure 1 from "Method of exercising a cat."

U.S. Patent 5,443,036  was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 22, 1995 for a method of exercising a cat by getting it to follow a spot generated by a laser pointer. The patent has been taken as an example of a "goofy" [1], "seemingly absurd" [2] or questionable [3] patent justifying, in the opinion of some, reform of the patent system.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Darren Franklin, Patent-Reform Bill Promises Changes to Transform Law, Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 14, 2005
  2. ^ Small-time inventors cry foul on patent changes, MSNBC, October 21, 2005
  3. ^ N. Stephan Kinsella, “Against Intellectual Property”, Journal of Libertarian Studies 15, no. 2 (Spring 2001), pp. 1–54. (see Appendix: Some questionable examples of patents and copyrights)

[edit] See also

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