23andMe can use Machine Learning to Determine Ancestry
In this patent – US9213947B1 – 23andMe uses machine learning to help correspond ‘phased haplotype data’ to specific ancestries.
Taco Bell’s attempted ‘Crunch Wrap’ patent
Taco Bell has a long list of patents related to various aspects of its business. One invention not on that list, is an abandoned patent application (published as US20080020106A1) that attempted to patent what appears to be their ‘Crunch Wrap’ food item. https://www.tacobell.com/food/specialties/crunchwrap-supreme Taco Bell’s claim read as […]
Three, Two, One, Let it Rip! ‘Beyblade’ Burst toy patent
My six-year-old, Jasper, has been obsessed with Beyblade for over a year now. A Beyblade is a spinning top that you and your opponent ‘rip’ into action in an arena. The tops (or ‘Beys’) spin and move about emphatically in the arena where they bump into each other. […]
Mark Zuckerberg’s Privacy Setting Patent
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, is a named inventor on a Facebook patent filed way back in 2006. The patent, US8225376B2, relates to your Facebook privacy settings and how you, as a user, can control what different groups can see. When you select a privacy setting, […]
SPANX for Stopping By
In honor of Mother’s Day, which admittedly passed last week, I would like to present a patent by one of the richest self-made mothers in the world – Sara T. Blakely. If you don’t know, she is the founder of Spanx, the undergarment and shapewear company. US Patent […]
BEYOND MEAT Patent (and taco taste testing)
Beyond Meat IPO’d recently and has been going gangbusters since. As I write this today, the stock closed above $79.00, which is nuts considering that the first traded stock of the IPO was $46 less than a week ago. The stock is so hot that even though the […]
Theranos Patent for Point of Care System
The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is well known. The company claimed to have technology for testing blood that required only about 1/100 to 1/1,000 of the blood compared to traditional blood tests, while costing far less. https://www.hematology.org/Thehematologist/Op-Ed/6540.aspx, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler. Theranos claimed to have a point of care […]
Fathers of the Internet and Their Lesser Known Invention – The Knowbot
Happy 30th Anniversary to the World Wide Web! Now, I know that this isn’t the anniversary of the internet, but without the internet, there would be no world wide web. Thus, please allow me to present to you, an invention by the pair who are often referred to […]
Snapchat’s Ephemeral Message Patent
At SXSW 2019, the founders of Instagram (Systrom and Krieger) mentioned that Instagram developed Snapchat-like features to build what is known as Instagram Stories. Story here. Prior to Instagram Stories, Snapchat was unique in that the content that a user posted and shared could be ‘Ephemeral’ and would […]