Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat

Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by WildUtah on Friday October 23, 2015 @03:43AM (#10437343)

Expired in 2007 for failure to pay the year 11 maintenance fee. Feel free to use this patent in your own products; it's in the public domain!

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Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by lucozade on Friday October 23, 2015 @05:13AM (#10437565)

Just goes to show that sometimes innovation and entrepreneurship don't go hand in hand.

Just search for cat vs laser pointer on Youtube. There's a ready made mint right there.

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Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by jordigh on Friday October 23, 2015 @11:12AM (#10439065)

Public domain is for copyrights, isn't it? Patents are always public. That's their whole point.

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Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by WildUtah on Friday October 23, 2015 @11:17AM (#10439107)

A patent is in the public domain until it issues and after it expires. It just means the patent is not yet or no longer in force and therefore the subject matter is not restricted. 'Public domain' has nothing to do with being secret or readable by the public either in copyright or patent; it's a matter of freedom to use or copy.

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Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by jordigh on Friday October 23, 2015 @11:20AM (#10439124)

I mean, is that the actual legal term for expired patents? "Public domain"? I thought it was a term of art for copyright, not for patents.

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Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by WildUtah on Friday October 23, 2015 @03:52PM (#10440920)

Yes. Also in patents.

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