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INVENTORS DIGEST LLC Dollars Stream to Online PRSRT STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 38 FULTON, MO $5.95 $5.95 DIGEST JANUARY 2020 2020 JANUARY Volume 36 Issue 01 Issue 36 Volume Inventors EDITOR’S NOTE DIGEST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF REID CREAGER ART DIRECTOR CARRIE BOYD Brilliant and Tough, CONTRIBUTORS ELIZABETH BREEDLOVE They Are. So Is ID DAN BURI LOUIS CARBONNEAU The gemstone for the 35th wedding anniversary is emerald. It is brilliant JACK LANDER green, with a highly polished shine. JEREMY LOSAW Emeralds rank high on the Mohs scale for identifying a gemstone’s rela- RENÉE C. QUINN tive hardness. Yet they rate low on toughness because of imperfections that EDIE TOLCHIN make them brittle. Joanne Hayes-Rines and Louis Foreman are brilliant and tough. GRAPHIC DESIGNER They’ve had to be. It’s no small feat to oversee a printed publication—espe- JORGE ZEGARRA cially a niche publication—in this digital era as advertising and sponsorship INVENTORS DIGEST LLC dollars stream to online. And it’s an uphill climb to advocate for the indepen- dent inventor, as court rulings too often side with corporate giants. PUBLISHER In her November 2016 Inventors Digest cover story, Hayes-Rines admit- LOUIS FOREMAN ted to an intimidating learning curve when she joined the then-quarterly bulletin in 1987. She eventually became deeply involved in legislation to WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR protect the small inventor with her late husband, Robert Rines. That passion ELIZABETH BREEDLOVE played out during her 20-year tenure as editor of ID (13 years as publisher). FINANCIAL CONTROLLER It can be argued that Hayes-Rines is the most noteworthy female cham- DEBBIE MUENCH pion for the independent inventor in modern history. So it’s fitting that our 35th anniversary issue has a photo of a female SUBSCRIPTIONS inventor on its cover. Inventors Digest has been among the leaders in LOURDES RODRIGUEZ promoting more involvement by women and in STEM-related fi lds that © 2020 Inventors Digest, LLC. All rights reserved. Inventors foster innovation. Digest, LLC is a North Carolina limited liability company and When Hayes-Rines retired in 2007, she was careful to pass the ID torch is the publisher of Inventors Digest magazine. INVENTORS to someone who had a similar commitment to the independent inventor: DIGEST and INVENTORS’ DIGEST are trademarks of Inven- product development titan and inventor supreme Louis Foreman, founder tors Digest, LLC. Reproduction or distribution of any materi- of Charlotte-based Enventys Partners. als obtained in this publication without written permission is expressly prohibited. The views, claims and opinions expressed Foreman has a prominent role in many national IP-related organiza- in article and advertisements herein are not necessarily those of tions and is a frequent public speaker on behalf of patent-related interests. Inventors Digest, LLC, its employees, agents or directors. This He’s in his 14th year as publisher, having publication and any references to products or services are seen ID through the Great Recession provided “as is” without any expressed or implied warranty or term of any kind. While effort is made to ensure accuracy that began in 2008. in the content of the information presented herein, Inventors Thi ty-three of ID’s 35 years have Digest, LLC is not responsible for any errors, misprints or mis- been led by these two giants in the information. Any legal information contained herein is not to inventing world, who have made be construed as legal advice and is provided for entertainment countless sacrifi es to ensure you or educational purposes only. Interested parties and inventors seeking legal advice should consult a lawyer. are holding this publication in your hands. Their luster is bright Ad rates, subscriptions & editorial content: and enduring. 520 Elliot Street Charlotte, NC 28202 —Reid [email protected] ([email protected]) www.InventorsDigest.com [email protected] Current Inventors Digest publisher Louis Foreman and his predecessor, Joanne Hayes-Rines, have been champions for the small inventor. JANUARY 2020 INVENTORS DIGEST 3 American innovation needs to hit the gym Weakened patent protections have reduced the value of American inventions. To strengthen American innovation, support the STRONGER Patents Act—legislation designed to restore strong Constitutional patent rights, limit unfair patent challenges, and end the diversion of USPTO fees. Make your voice heard now at SaveTheInventor.com Brought to you by the Innovation Alliance 32 ContentsJanuary 2020 Volume 36 Issue 01 Features 10 26 Happy 35th to Us Inventors Digest’s History; High-Profile ongratulations 32 2020 U.S. Trade Show Calendar Key Events for Inventors 38 Creativity Trademark Insurance Brand Mascots Showcase IP Genius Inventor Spotlight 18 16 Rising From Falls Man’s Pads Protect Seniors 18 Cleaner Toilet Training Couple’s Latched Chair 22 Beauty Slam-Dunk Giving Women More Time Departments 7 Everybody’s Talking Conversation Pieces 8 Bright Ideas Innovation That Shines 10 Time Tested New Coke’s Old Debate 12 Lander Zone Inventing’s Advances 38 14 Social Hour JANUARY 2020 Volume 36 Issue 01 DIGEST Re-Strategizing for 2020 40 Prototyping After the Crowdfund 42 Patent Pending The Case for Buying Patents $5.95 FULTON, MO MO FULTON, FULTON, PERMIT 38 38 PERMIT PERMIT US POSTAGE PAID PAID POSTAGE POSTAGE US US 44 Eye on Washington PRSRT STANDARD STANDARD PRSRT PRSRT INV-vol 36-01-January-2020v4.indd 1 12/16/19 12:09 PM Patent Environment Was ON THE COVER Upside-Down in 2019 Leila Kashani, CEO of wellness brand Alleyoop; 46 Inventiveness 16 photo by Cacá Santoro Focus on the Fun and Fascinating JANUARY 2020 INVENTORS DIGEST 5 InventorsAPRIL 2018 Volume 34 Issue 04 DIGEST Innovation Was Crosley’s Field CORRESPONDENCE A WORLD BROADCASTING MAGNATE LEFT MARK IN MANY ARENAS Experienced Enough? OF HOPE PATENT JUDGES’ TENURES THE LATEST AND BEST IN ARE COMPARATIVELY SHORT Letters and emails in reaction to new and older “Harnessing the Wind’s Power” ECO-FRIENDLY INVENTIONS Inventors Digest stories you read in print or online (April 2018): (responses may be edited for clarity and brevity): Th s technology was used by ancient civilization. It means this wind was I have subscribed to Inventors Digest for more than very helpful to them for everyday life. two years, and each issue gets better and better. I never Same as in the present. —CHRISTIAN MORALES $5.95 FULTON, MO MO FULTON, FULTON, PERMIT 38 PERMIT knew much about inventing, but the magazine always 38 PERMIT US POSTAGE PAID PAID POSTAGE POSTAGE US US PRSRT STANDARD STANDARD PRSRT PRSRT has interesting articles that inform and entertain me. INV-vol 34-04-APR-2018vFinal.indd 1 3/19/18 10:19 AM The magazine is also colorful and professionally CONTACT US presented, with a great diversity of content and voices. Keep up the great work! Letters: Online: —PHYLLIS CLEMENTS Inventors Digest Via inventorsdigest.com, comment below 520 Elliot Street the Leave a Reply notation at the bottom Charlotte, NC 28202 of stories. Or, send emails or other inquiries to [email protected]. OMG! The NCAA and NIL On September 30, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the Fair Pay to Play Act, making it illegal for California col- leges to restrict college athletes from being compensated for the use of their NILs. According to Forbes magazine, this was done despite NCAA threats exclude to California members from cham- pionship competitions. The NCAA has attracted a new wave Some players, organizations and experts took the approach of skeptics with its recent declaration that the NCAA declaration was better than nothing, some move that its athletes will be able to financially in a new direction. That was the reaction of professor Andrew benefit from their name, image and likeness. But at least the Zimbalist of Smith (Mass.) College, an expert on the econom- heavily criticized governing body for college sports is popular- ics of college sports—who also suggested the announcement izing an intellectual property acronym that until recently was was largely a PR effort. largely the sole domain of patent and corporate attorneys. “What they’re trying to do here is say, ‘We get it; you don’t The week of the NCAA’s late-October announcement, the let- have to worry about us anymore,’” he told Rolling Stone maga- ters NIL may have been seen on smartphones as often as OMG, zine. “They’re trying to puncture a hole in the balloon of legal BRB or TMI. Never mind the fact that if you lowercase NIL, you and political pressure.” get the answer for what the NCAA’s declaration means right now. Zimbalist is also concerned about a specific clause in the It won’t be until at least 2021 that college athletes will be able to NCAA’s announcement, its plan to compensate student-ath- benefit from their name, image and likeness. And how they will ben- letes “in a manner consistent with the collegiate model.” Those efit is as muddy as a Washington State football field in N vember. eight ambiguous words were widely ridiculed. The NCAA didn’t spell out exactly which rights its athletes will Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier Journal wrote: “The NCAA have. All it said was that it is beginning the process of chang- embraces change as if it were a cactus. Even now, as federal ing its rules on the matter. In its trademark institutionspeak, the and state governments prod the organization toward meaning- NCAA cited its “continuing efforts to support college athletes.” ful reforms, foot-dragging continues to frustrate measures that The organization was forced into its less-than-magnanimous properly belong on the fast track.” Yeah, but we will all know declaration by a landmark state law enacted a month earlier.
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