The Google Patent Search is a great tool for viewing patent documents. Even my dear old Dad has a few patents under his belt.

A big part of designing for the masses is protection of your intellectual property in order to preserve your ability to make money from your idea. That means having exclusive rights to produce and sell your ‘thing’, based on the protection that the patent office provides.

And you can patent ANYTHING. Including movie prop devices like the ones used for Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” video and concert performances.

Thanks to Ironic Sans for the original post about Celebrity Patents.