Flash of Genius Review

This week's presentation of Blawg Review is a treasure trove of Intellectual Property news and opinion, including something for everyone, patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, and cyber law.

Blawg Review #179 is being hosted on Securing Innovation, the business blog of IP.com, on the birthday of Laszlo Biro, to commemorate his invention of the ballpoint pen seventy years ago. Like many, I didn't know who invented the ubiquitous ballpoint pen that, in its original invention by Biro, was apparently very similar to the classic BIC Cristal. I was also surprised to learn from this week's Blawg Review that Laszlo Biro had many other inventions, including an automatic transmission, which he sold to GM.

Blawg Review links a patent attorney's preview of Flash of Genius, a movie about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield-wiper. Stephen Albainy-Jenei, at the Patent Baristas patent law blog, thinks he will like this movie.

Billed as educational while also inspiring and entertaining, the early reviews have been positive. The story is based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns’s (Greg Kinnear) long battle with the U.S. automobile industry and his fight to receive recognition for his invention. Kearns took on a battle that nobody thought he could win.

Kearns invented and patented the intermittent windshield wiper mechanism for use in light rain or mist and tried to license it to the big automakers. They all rejected his idea and then some went ahead and put intermittent wipers in their cars beginning in 1969. In 1967, he received the first of more than 30 patents for his wipers. He sued Ford in 1978 and Chrysler in 1982 for patent infringement.

Click here to watch the movie trailer, and check out this week's Blawg Review #179 for more surprises. Is the guy in the movie poster above reading our blog's sidebar on the right? You should!