Thongs are not quite as useful, but have definitely become a staple of western society. In fact, some may argue they are less useful than regular underwear or panties, but their "purpose" is to look attractive and make the wearer feel sexy. They are most often worn by teenage to middle-aged women.
Here's a great idea: Let's combine the two!
Presenting, the Thong Diaper:
Perhaps it's actually a Diaper Thong. Honestly, I think I'd rather not know.
Let's break down the patentability of this.
Non-Obvious - A diaper that's also a thong? I've never thought of that before. Have you? I think I'm gonna give this a pass.
Novelty - I don't think anyone has ever thought of this in their life (well, clearly SOMEONE has). Another pass.
Enablement - What industry does this belong to, the diaper industry or the thong industry? Honestly, I doubt it could compete in either. That said, it seems reasonable that any professional in the diaper industry could figure out how to reduce the size and make this thing. Not sure about the thong industry though. I'll give this a Maybe.
Usefulness - This one is the real stumper. What the hell is the point of this thing? Is it for babies who want to feel sexy? Is it for pedophiles who want to dress up the babies *shudder*? Is it for women whose partner has a diaper fetish? Honestly, the only possible legitimate use I can think of for this is for seniors who may want to feel sexy wearing a thong, yet can't control their bowels. Mmm. But even that's a stretch. I'm gonna go ahead and give this a NO.
So seriously, what the hell is the USPTO up to these days? Does someone there have a diaper fetish? I'm glad our tax money is being well spent.
I think this was patented just for the sake of being patented. The USPTO is embarrassing itself by claiming this a innovation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think this is obvious, its just a slight design change, like adding the 5th leg to a chair. I don't think it took any great leap to think of this. Most people wouldn't consider it because it's not mainstream but I think it's obvious.
ReplyDeleteI.... am bewildered, haha. This looks to be a design patent with good intentions (perhaps to require less surface area on a diaper, and therefore less material and less cost, also reducing the weight of the diaper for the baby). So probably this is something novel to change something that is a dinosaur in the category. But useful? I'm not sure that thinner, smaller diapers is going to be much more useful since diapers really should maximize surface area to protect the droppings from falling out...
ReplyDeleteI am pretty speechless for this patent. I am very surprised and impressed (not in a good way) for the person who thought of combining the two ideas. I do not know if it would be that useful for the baby. I feel like it would be quite uncomfortable for the babies to wear.
ReplyDeleteWhat elderly woman wants to wear a thong, let alone thong diaper? Additionally, if an individual were to make use of the product, would the thong be sturdy enough to hold the contents inside? Honestly, this patent is quite disturbing and I hope the USPTO has stronger reservations about patents in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis post made me laugh. I had read about this patent, and was equally horrified. It certainly seems to give a sexy touch and reduce the negative connotations of losing control of ones bowels.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was shocked when I first heard about this!!! I think the main criteria that it doesn't hold is usefulness. This is because by combining the two (a diaper and a thong) it doesn't do either!
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