necessity is the mother of invention

Happy New Year!

For the first 2005 post – The Miami Herald has a story today about the mother of invention: necessity.

… began in 2000, when [David McDonald] forgot his toothpaste while on a trip.

“It stuck in my mind,” he said, “that if I could just find a container for that and a toothbrush …”

A machinist friend in Lakeville made a rough model of the Casemate. David McDonald pitched the idea in Atlanta to the board of directors of a manufacturing company.

“It was the first time I realized I had something,” he said. “Everyone’s jaw dropped. They were surprised no one had done this already.”

With a prototype for the simple two-compartment case completed, he contacted St. Paul patent attorney Doug Tschida, who found the idea almost ridiculously simple. Said David McDonald: “He laughed and said, ‘Is this patentable?’”

It was.

The patent – No. D457718 – is a design patent, which prevents a competitor from copying the appearance of the Casemate.

The best inventions are always the simple useful kind of things that you wonder “why hasn’t anyone done this before.”

You may be interested in reading the following related posts:

1. Billing – Honesty is the Key to Delivering Value
2. video – patent process demystified
3. Necessity is the Mother – or sister – or daughter – of Invention
4. Are People Copying Your Website?
5. Caveat emptor! Invention Promotion Companies

Posted by Douglas Sorocco, January 2, 2005 at 4:13 pm
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