“Shark Tank”-funded inflatable, solar-powered LED company receives first patent
Earlier this summer, LuminAID issued a press release to announce that it had been issued a patent grant from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which covers its inflatable solar-powered LED technology. The patent is U.S. Patent No. 9347629, issued under the title Inflatable Solar-Powered Light. The inflatable solar-powered light claimed in this patent has an expandable bladder and a solar-powered light assembly positioned on a plastic surface and having a circuit board, a rechargeable battery, a solar panel and at least one LED; the plastic covering the solar panel and other components is both substantially transparent and waterproof.
As the patent’s background section notes, one of every six people in this world lack access to stable electricity. Often, people without access to electricity will use kerosene, a dangerous and toxic substance that can cost up to 30 percent of a person’s income in underdeveloped regions. This solar-lighting solution achieves the favorable outcomes of being easy to transport while eliminating recurring energy costs as well as the limited resources of non-rechargeable batteries.
Quinn, Cuban talk software patents, business of innovation
Recently, IPWatchdog.com has published a series of articles relating to Mark Cuban’s activities and views relative to the patent system. (See here, here and here.) Cuban is no stranger to the patent policy debate, and has gone on the record numerous times explaining that he thinks software patents should be abolished. In fact, he famously donated $250,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation for the creation of the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents.
In the comments to the aforementioned articles, Mark Cuban engaged in a spirited back and forth with readers, and with me. I invited him to do an interview with me. He agreed and we conducted an e-mail interview. To read the full interview, please see A patent conversation with Mark Cuban.
11.13.15 | Patent Issues, software patents | Gene Quinn
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09.28.16 | Patent Issues | Gene Quinn