They often make it look so easy when celebrities entertain us in their movies, songs and dance routines. What we fail to typically appreciate are the intense production aspects behind what we see and hear. Many celebrities are involved in the production of their own works. On occasion, their involvement has led to unique innovations, some of which we can read about in granted patents. In a patent, an invention must be described in such a manner that others can read and understand what the invention is about. Using a “Google Patents” search, the ordinary citizen can search and read about inventions created by celebs.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson obtained U.S. Patent No. 5,255,452 for a “Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion” used in his famous “Smooth Criminal” dance routine. The illusion that Michael Jackson wanted to create was a dancer leaning forward beyond the dancer’s center of gravity. The patent was granted on a system that engages the dancer’s shoes and permits the dancer to lean forward beyond the dancer’s center of gravity in a stable manner. A video of this can be viewed at here and of course a copy of the patent can be obtained on https://patents.google.com/.
Neil Young
Neil Young is a great songwriter and singer (primarily folk rock in the1960s) and was later known as the “Godfather of Grunge.” He is credited on a number of websites with an unlocatable U.S. patent relating to a music player for high quality uncompressed digital audio, which was sold under the brand “PONOPLAYER.” However, not to be disappointed, his versatility and creativity is shown as a co-inventor on seven very locatable U.S. patents (7,264,208; 7,211,976; 6,765,356;5,749,547; 5,555,815; 5,441,223; and 5,251,856) relating to model trains of all things. He was also part owner of Lionel, LLC, which was a well-known company that made toy trains and model railroad accessories.
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen – a great rock guitarist – was also an innovator and patent owner in his guitar playing field. Van Halen developed a well-known guitar tapping technique which can be viewed on YouTube, showing how to perform his tapping technique and the unique sound that it produces. His patent relates to a support which leaves both hands free to perform the tapping technique (U.S. Patent No. 4,656,917). Van Halen also holds other patents relating to guitar design such as U.S. Patent No. 7,183,475 for a “stringed instrument with adjustable string tension control,” and U.S. Design Patent No. D388,117 for “the ornamental design of a guitar peghead.”
Prince
Prince is the holder of U.S. Design Patent No. D349,127 for a “Portable, Electronic Keyboard Musical Instrument.” This design patent pertains to his custom keytar, known as the “Purpleaxxe,” which features a distinctive shape inspired by his unique symbol.
Harry Connick Jr.
Harry Connick Jr., a widely recognized musician and actor, had the most notable Grammy nominated platinum album, “Only You,” of “cover” songs from the 1920s to the 1960s. He led his big band with his piano playing through these cover songs. He was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,348,648 for a “System and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra.” This invention facilitates the digital display and coordination of sheet music for orchestral musicians, enhancing real-time collaboration during performances.
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, who was most notably known for his acting, was an occasional singer. He started out as a heart throb actor (“The Wild One” (1953)) but then became known for his serious acting, winning the Best Actor Academy Award for the movie “The Godfather” (1972). His innovative contribution is described in
U.S. Patent No. 6,812,392 for a “Drumhead Tensioning Device” to adjust drumhead tension in percussion instruments. For those too young to recall “The Godfather,” it served as inspiration for the series “The Sopranos.”
Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul is famous for her choreography in addition to her singing and American Idol judging capabilities. In 2008, she filed a patent application for a microphone stand that allowed a performer more room for dancing. That application, published as U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0196451A1 for a “Dynamic Microphone Support Apparatus,” disclosed a base for the microphone that a user could stand and pivot on.
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley is a model who may be best known as the face of CoverGirl cosmetics and as a literal three-peat cover girl on Sports Illustrated’s (in) famous swimsuit issue. She is also a patent holder and sole inventor on U.S. Patent No. 4,998,883 for “Educational Toy.” This patent was granted in 1991 and includes a plurality of elemental components having shapes and sizes to constitute component parts of pre-determined forms, especially letters of the alphabet. Her creativity doesn’t stop there – she also won Rolling Stone’s “The Best Album Cover of the Year” award for the album cover art she painted for Billy Joel’s 1993 “The River of Dreams” album.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an actor and double patent holder! She is the only inventor on a 1988 patent titled “Infant Garment” for a disposable diaper having a clean- up wipe stored in a pocket on the diaper, eliminating the panic that comes with searching for wipes when in the middle of a diaper change. Ms. Curtis is also the sole inventor on a 2017 patent for a similar garment (“Unitary Disposable Diaper with Integrated Soilage-management Structure Including Disposable Diaper”) for a diaper structure that has a disposal bag integrated into the diaper for easy disposal once soiled. Unfortunately, she has stated that both these products were never marketed in order to protect the environment (and keep these fully loaded disposable diapers out of landfills).
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr is most well-known as a famous actress during MGM’s “Golden Age” of film. When not acting, she co-invented a radio communications system which includes technology for frequency hopping. She had learned of a problem with radio-guided torpedoes from her first husband (an Austrian arms dealer): the radio signals were easily jammed. Her U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 describes a way for overcoming that jamming by transmitting signals on rapidly changing frequencies using synchronized senders and receivers. In recent years, this innovation has been hyperbolically credited as a basis for Wi-Fi, GPS, and other communication improvements.
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar is generally known as an actress, dancer and singer with numerous television, movie and theater credits. However, she has also made a name for herself as a writer and a lingerie designer. She holds two U.S. Patents: 1977 U.S. Patent No. 4,003,094 title “Pantyhose with Shaping Band for Cheeky Derriere Relief ” and 1976 U.S. Patent No. 3,935,865 titled “Brassiere.” At one time, these and other garments were sold under the “Nudemar” product line.
Danica McKellar
Most of us first noted Danica McKellar as the child actor playing Winnie Cooper on the “The Wonder Years.” She went on to study mathematics at UCLA, and while there she helped devise a mathematical physics theorem for certain properties of magnetic fields known as the “Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem.” While this theorem is not the subject of a known patent application, we chalk this up to U.S. patent law (specifically 35 U.S.C. 101) which excludes from patent eligible subject matter mathematical algorithms, scientific principles, and mental processes (among others).
Celebrities entertain us with their acting, singing, and dancing, but they can also inspire us to be creative in other ways, all the way to the U.S. patent office.
