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[Alistair]

Two questions:

1) I've come across a few inventions that to me are not inventions at all, just new uses of old inventions, and not even that differing/nonobvious in their use, I'll make an example, Ring For Foot Toe (http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&II=1&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20060713&CC=JP&NR=2006181059A&KC=A), isn't that just a ring?

2) I would like to get hold of the original patent of whoever invented the finger ring in the first place (or any other old original patent, for that matter), how do I do that? These inventions must go back a VERY LONG time and the websites I've found only show a relatively small number of patents on each search, any clue?

Thanks.

[JimIvey]

First, it's important to understand the difference between an application and a patent.  An application is something that someone hopes is patentable.  A patent is something a patent office has deemed patentable.  Think of the difference between a mortgage application and a mortgage -- the difference is thousands, and in some neighborhoods millions, of dollars.

Second, pretty much all I could see at that link was a title and an abstract.  Novelty and non-obviousness are applied to the claims, not the title or the abstract.  So there's not nearly enough information there to really say much about the novelty or obviousness of the invention (always defined by the claims).

Third, even the abstract itself suggests that the invention is much more specific than "just a ring."

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ring for a foot toe, which can decorate the tip of a foot foppishly when wearing sandals or the like, is easily attached to and detached from the foot and is easily fitted and hardly falls off and hardly causes position shift. ; SOLUTION: A mounting part 2 to be fitted to the toe 1 is formed roughly in a horseshoe shape, ornaments 3 to be exposed on the toe 1 are respectively provided on both end parts 2a and 2b of the mounting part 2, and one ornament 3 is formed so as to be freely inclined through a shaft part 4 along the axial center position of the mounting part 2. In this case, it is preferable to arrange one ornament 3 right above one end part 2a by positioning one end part 2a of the mounting part 2 on a vertical line L passing through the axis. Also, it is preferable to connect the other end part 2b of the mounting part 2 to the inner side position of the other ornament 3 and shift the other ornament 3 from the right above of the other end part 2b to the outer side.

So, if you want to discuss novelty and obviousness, you should at least start with that.  I suspect the claims are even more specific than that.

Regards.

[Alistair]

I only look for patens, applications are there today, may be gone tomorrow..

I definitely see your point, but in that particular toe ring patent I wasn't able to read the claims as it's only patented in Japan, I can't read Japanese, but it looks to me that if someone was able to re-patent something like a ring but for the toe (PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ring for a foot toe, which can decorate the tip of a foot foppishly when wearing sandals or the like, is easily attached to and detached from the foot and is easily fitted and hardly falls off and hardly causes position shift), then it might mean the claims for the finger ring original invention must have specified that the ring had to be used exclusively on the hand, surely? I'd be curious to read that.. anyway, it all seems a bit on the edge to me..

Do you know a website that goes back to the stone age?

[JustAnotherExaminer]

The original filed claims:

[Document Name]Claims

[Claim 1]A ring for legs which forming in approximately horseshoe shape an applied part inserted in a toe, and forming in both ends of this applied part via an axial part to which decoration exposed on a toe was provided, respectively, and decoration of one side met in the direction of an axial center of an applied part enabling free devotion.

[Claim 2]A ring for legs which positioning one end of an applied part and arranging right above one end on a perpendicular line by which it is a ring for the legs according to claim 1, and decoration of one side passes along the center.

[Claim 3]A ring for legs, wherein it is a ring for the legs according to claim 2, an end of another side of an applied part is connected with an inner side position of decoration of another side and decoration of another side is shifted outside from right above an end of another side.

No action yet taken on the application.

[Alistair]

Yeah, in the end I did find it, on the Japanese IP website, it's actually pretty good, with English translations and all, while the Korean one does offer free consultation as well but there's no help with the language.

That particular patent turn out to be very different from what I thought, it's mainly a new design, so yeah, never stop at the abstract..

[MYK]

2) I would like to get hold of the original patent of whoever invented the finger ring in the first place (or any other old original patent, for that matter), how do I do that? These inventions must go back a VERY LONG time and the websites I've found only show a relatively small number of patents on each search, any clue?

What makes you think there was one?  Patents have only been around since roughly the 1600s, I believe.  Finger rings have been around a lot longer than that.