Category: Patents Rock

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 2,896,491 Filed: 22 June 1955 In the name of: E. Lover (assigned to Gibson, Inc.) Title: Magnetic Pickup for Stringed Musical Instrument What’s claimed: “A magnetic pickup for a stringed musical instrument comprising an elongated permanent bar magnet magnetized from side to side, a plurality of pairs of cylindrical pole pieces of magnetizable soft iron material arranged at spaced intervals along said magnet with the pieces of each pair engaging opposite sides of the magnet and projecting thereabove, a first coil wound around all of the pieces on one side of said magnet, a second coil wound around all of […]

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 7,279 Issue Date: 16 April 1850 In the name of: James Ashborn (inventor) Title: Guitar Head What’s claimed: “I also claim combining an eccentric roller with a capo tasto for moving and holding it down onto any desired part of a guitar handle, by means of a metal strap made to embrace the handle and capo tasto plate and attached thereto, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.”. Why this patent rocks: a very early example of a patent relating to a capo. If you’re a patent-savvy music tech business looking for patent help, get in touch with Russell IP here! The information above is for general interest and […]

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 477,167 Filed: 19 November 1891 In the name of: William Carter (inventor) Title: Musical Instrument What’s claimed: “A nasalette or musical instrument provided with a nose cap or hood adapted to form a receiver for air blown through the nostrils, a duct for deflecting such air downward from said receiver, and a tubular mouthpiece connected with said duct below and provided with a sounding strip or device for the air expelled from the hood-shaped receiver and through the mouthpiece, substantially as specified”. Why this patent rocks: possibly the first recorded example of a modern nose flute (also known as a nose […]

Rockin’ Registered Design: Registered Community Design No. 002386599-0003 Filed: 17 January 2014 In the name of: Spotify AB Indication of Product: Graphical User Interfaces Why this registered design rocks: this registered design relates to the visual appearance of (all or part of) a graphical user interface (GUI). Registered designs protect the way things looks rather than how they work and, as this registered design shows, such things can include GUIs. If you’re a patent-savvy music tech business looking for patent help, get in touch with Russell IP here! The information above is for general interest and information only and does not constitute legal advice.

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 9,304,988 Filed: 28 August 2014 In the name of: Landr Audio Inc. (assignee) Title: System And Method For Performing Automatic Audio Production Using Semantic Data What’s claimed: “A computer-implemented method for performing automatic audio production, comprising: receiving an audio signal to be processed via a semantic analysis module; receiving semantic information via the semantic analysis module, the semantic information comprising at least one of chromosomal features, classification features, and production features; determining at least one semantic-based rule using the received semantic information, the semantic-based rule comprising production data that defines how the audio signal to be processed should be produced; processing the audio […]

Rockin’ (Design) Patent: US Design Patent No. 634,733 Filed: 18 February 2010 In the name of: Bang & Olufsen A/S Title: Subwoofer What’s claimed: “The ornamental design for a subwoofer, as shown and described” Why this (design) patent rocks: this is a ‘design patent’ (aka registered design) rather than a ‘utility patent’. It therefore relates to the appearance of a product rather than how it works as such. The design shown in this design patent seems to correspond to Bang & Olufsen’s BeoLab 11 subwoofer. If you’re a patent-savvy music tech business looking for patent help, get in touch with Russell IP here! The information above […]

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 2,033,826 Filed: 11 October 1934 In the name of: G. C. Haium Title: Musical Instrument What’s claimed: “In a structural assemblage of the class described, a hollow vibratory support constituting a combined base and tone resonating device, said base being provided on one side with a tone hole, on the other side with a foot opening for the reception of the foot of the user, and in its top with a pin reception and retention hole, and a complemental stringed musical instrument designed for humorous, stage and public entertainment purposes, said instrument including a vibratory string equipped body […]

Rockin’ (Design) Patent: US Design Patent No. 244,717 Filed: 10 July 1975 In the name of: Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk fame Title: Electronic Percussion Musical Instrument What’s claimed: “The ornamental design for an electronic percussion musical instrument, substantially as shown” Why this (design) patent rocks: First of all, this is a ‘design patent’ rather than a ‘utility patent’. What’s referred to as a ‘design patent’ in the US is often called a ‘registered design’ in other countries. Design patents (or registered designs) protect the way things look rather than how they work. This can be seen from what’s claimed; an ornamental […]

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. US 8,378,202 Filed: 20 August 2009 Assignee (owner): Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Title: Portable Communication Device Capable Of Virtually Playing Musical Instruments What’s claimed: “An instrument-playing portable communication device comprising: an instrument-playing key unit having one or more keys provided on a body of the instrument-playing portable communication device; a sensor unit mounted in the body of the instrument-playing portable communication device; a controller for receiving a first signal from the instrument-playing key unit and a second signal from the sensor unit, for generating a tone frequency based on the received first and second signals, and for converting the […]

Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. US 3,883,982 Filed: April 5, 1974 Assignee (owner): Kusan, Inc Title: Kazoo And Face Mask Combination Abstract: “A new type of kazoo and mounting therefor in a face mask” What’s claimed: “The combination with a face mask having a substantially vertical slot in each side of the mouth area; of a vertically disposed kazoo diaphragm support having ends inserted in the slots for support thereby; and a cord for encircling the head of the wearer to retain said mask thereon” Why this patent rocks: Don’t just wear a scary mask at Halloween, wear one with a built-in kazoo! If you’re […]