Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 22, Issue 9
Share on Social
Bowling Patents Right Up Your Alley
Whether you are an experienced league bowler or have only attended a child’s birthday party at an alley, bowling is a sport that can be enjoyed by all.
With the earliest known forms of bowling dating back to ancient Egypt, it is not hard to believe that the sport has gone through quite a few advancements. A quick search of the word “bowling” in a patent search engine yields nearly 136,000 issued patents, ranging from bowling shoes to ball returners, and everything in between.
The creation of a simple bowling ball requires decades of development and results in quite a few patents. It is believed that some of the first bowling balls were made from the husks of grain crops and covered and bound in materials such as leather and string. Today, bowling balls may include a variety of materials such as polyester, urethane, and resin. Contemporary ball surfaces employ a strong chemical-based shell and heavy center cores. U.S. Patent No. 5,098,096 discloses what some consider to be the “modern bowling ball”; a ball manufactured with most of the weight in the center, giving the ball a greater total kinetic energy to knock down more pins.
Further patent searches reveal inventions related to bowling ball compositions, manufacturing processes, finger hole placements, and more. Below are two examples of unique ball manufacturing processes that have been patented, providing an opportunity for the patent owners to stand out amongst their competition.
Scented Bowling Balls
Storm Products came up with a unique idea to begin making bowling balls with fragrances. Receiving a patent in 2010, U.S. Patent No. 7,803,058 describes the process of making a scented bowling ball. Customers purchasing a bowling ball from Storm can choose between balls with fragrances such as “Cherry Apple Slush”, “Frosted Cupcake”, or “Grapevine” to make a perfect game extra sweet. But what is the purpose of such an invention, other than smelling good at the alley? Some bowlers believe that inhaling the fragrance allows them to relieve stress and better concentrate on their next throw.
Coverstock Graphics
The outer shell of a bowling ball is called the “coverstock”, and it can be a very influential element to a bowler’s game. Brands typically engrave identifying information into the coverstock such as their logo or the weight of the ball. MOTIV Bowling engineered a process of manufacturing graphics directly into the coverstock of the ball, eliminating the need to engrave the outer surface. Patented in 2012, the method described in U.S. Patent No. 8,221,252 provides a unique look to bowling balls, while maintaining a smooth surface resistant to cracking and chipping.
Perhaps the next bowling patent to be filed will be a strike for the bowling community. To learn more about sports-related patents, take a look at our previous Fish Tank Articles on Football Patents and Basketball Patents.
Published May 6, 2022
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
The US Copyright Office recently made headlines for partially revoking a copyright registration it previously issued for an AI-generated graphic novel. Artist Kristina Kashtanova used the Midjourney platform to create images that she included in her graphic novel called Zarya of the Dawn.
Ed Sheeran recently successfully defended against a copyright infringement lawsuit over his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.” Songwriter Ed Townsend’s heirs brought the suit alleging Sheeran had infringed Townsend’s copyrights in the 1973 Motown classic, “Let’s Get It On” which Townsend co-authored with Marvin Gaye.
American publishing houses consistently snapped up the works of the famous British author, re-published them in cheap editions, which sold all over the country, and they pocketed the proceeds without any remuneration to Charles Dickens.
For many of us, the term “Easter egg” conjures up memories of dying hard-boiled eggs in bright colors or hunting for treasures and candies stuffed inside plastic orbs hidden around the neighborhood.
Each of us is creative. The key is to leverage that creativity, converting it into an intellectual property asset that enhances enterprise value.
This practice is often called the “Poor Man’s Copyright” and the idea has been around for a long time. The theory is that mailing a copy of a work to yourself will provide you with certain legal rights akin to a copyright registration so long as the envelope remains sealed and bears a postmark by the United States Postal Service.
Public Domain Day is celebrated on January 1st and commemorates the expiration of copyright protection for certain creative works. US copyright law provides the copyright owner with certain exclusive rights for a limited time, after which the works fall into the public domain.
Unlike the Matrix, Star Wars, and Austin Powers, respectively, Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or ChatGPT, is not a robot in disguise or a bot of science fiction. We, the users, provide prompts in text form, and ChatGPT converses in response to the prompts.
Recently, we filed an application to register the copyright for Finny the Fish. In the United States, and in many other countries, copyright protection arises at the moment a work is fixed in tangible medium. So, why would we take the extra step to register Finny’s copyright?
With the 2022 midterms (almost) in the rearview mirror, political junkies are now free to turn their full attention to the 2024 presidential election. Today’s focus is on the tug of war that can occur when candidates play music at campaign events.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
