A penny for your thoughts

Today I am celebrating World Intellectual Property Day! Back in 2000, April 26 was set aside to celebrate the contributions made by innovators and artists around the world and to raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in our daily lives. I celebrate those with the big ideas in life today and especially when watching such fun shows as the Shark Tank.

For those who, like me, work for a technology company, you may be very aware of the emphasis on intellectual property and its role in our lives. Many of us were required to sign our intellectual property away to the corporate giant before walking into the office on Day 1. Our every creative thought, no longer our own, became the property of the company, to use in its current or future business areas or to keep from its competitors. With the emphasis on innovation today and continuing the tradition of being a world leader in patent awards, you may have even heard a direct challenge to achieve a patent before even dreaming of a raise or promotion in the competitive workplace of the day. This practice gives a unique perspective to "a penny for your thoughts."

I recently began thinking that maybe it is not so difficult achieving a patent. I found some interesting lists of big ideas that received patents. Here are some of my favorites:

• For our bird watching friends, a head bird feeder, comprised of a hat with a support and one or more mounted feeders was patented. (Patent number 5996127)
  
• The human sound muffler was designed to permit someone to 'sound off' or 'let off a bit of steam' safely, without others hearing (Patent number 4834212). Maxwell Smart (Agent 86 in the Get Smart movie) could definitely have used that device for his little rant during a meeting with his coworkers when the Cone of Silence again failed. Perhaps you have even double-checked the mute button on your phone during a teleconference before abruptly reacting to comments of your co-workers, manager, or customer service.
  
• For the summer season, there is even a patent for a maternity beach chair, allowing a mother-to-be to easily tan her back (Patent number 6295668)
  
• For those who cannot afford or are afraid of the drastic gastric bypass and lapband operations, an anti-eating face mask may be the answer. (Patent number 4344424)
  
• For the cook in the kitchen who can never find the dish towel, the hands-free towel carrying system (otherwise known as a towel with a neck loop) may be handy (Patent number 6718554)
  
• For those celebrating Earth Day last week or those annoyed while walking through the cloud of smoke by smokers who can no longer smoke inside a building, the smoker's hat may be the solution (Patent number 4858627). It is a hat that covers the head of the smoker, while intaking the smoke, filtering the air, and expelling filtered, purified, and optionally scented air from the hat.
  
• For those of you who feel it necessary to tweet your every thought but are frustrated at so many who do not use Twitter, you might like the mountable printable head placard (Patent number 6049912). This head accessory may be useful to get your message quickly to everyone you meet, even those who are technology-challenged.

Well, maybe not all big ideas are bright ideas. Maybe some should just be left on paper, for our amusement. Hey, if you've got a bright idea that you would like to proclaim to the world, check out the United States Patent and Trademark Office to see if someone else also had the same thought.