Silly Patents

I've heard of several silly patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but U.S. 5,443,036 seems like an abuse of the system.

From the abstract:

A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct.

What's next? A patent on swinging on a swing? Oops, that is already covered by U.S. 6,368,227. Fortunately this patent covers side-to-side swinging, so most kids don't need a license to enjoy the swings at their neighborhood park. Maybe the patent holder tried to file for a patent on back-and-forth swinging, but found too much prior art.

These two patents were awarded years ago, so who knows how many other gems like these have been awarded since then. Clearly, I should have gone into Patent and Intellectual Property law!

Patents are becoming bargaining chips used for deal making between companies, especially in high-tech. My employer always advocates patent filing, or bringing up potential ideas with others for discussion and/or collaboration. I don't have any patents and honestly don't think I'm working in an area that will generate many (any?). If I ever get a patent, I'd like it to be meaningful one that I'm proud of, and not some joke like the patents listed above.