YEAHH!! – to obsessive professional nerdism!

Well, that’s what I thought when I received news about a movie as an e-mail from one of the IP blogs, I subscribed to. Nonplussed, till now, I never knew the affinity or hate (usually, extreme reactions) that the display of one’s profession on a medium causes.

So, Flash of a Genius, had me on grips almost immediately, its sole reason being the subject matter of the movie, which revolves around one man’s (Robert Kearns') invention which stemmed vis-à-vis his own need – the intermittent wiper system – in cars, and the US automobile industry which 'infringed' upon his invention. (The antagonists in this case, being Ford and Chrysler). So, goes the protagonist on his salvaging journey amidst the techno-legal framework and the burden of fighting it out against the tide. Undeterred and plausibly in Hollywood, melodramatic style, this movie aims to woo the audience showcasing the victory and turmoil of this lone man (as pitched against the stalwarts).

Interestingly, intermittent wipers came about after Robert Kearns was hit in his left eye by a champagne cork on his wedding night in 1953. Later, Kearns was driving his Ford Galaxie through a light rain, and the constant movement of the wiper blades irritated his already troubled vision. He modeled his mechanism on the human eye, which automatically blinks every few seconds.

Kearns invented and patented the intermittent windshield wiper mechanism for use in light rain or mist and tried to license it to the big automakers. They all rejected his idea and then some went ahead and put intermittent wipers in their cars beginning in 1969. In 1967, he received the first of more than 30 patents for his wipers. He sued Ford in 1978 and Chrysler in 1982 for patent infringement.

Ford argued that Kearns’ patents were overly broad and therefore invalid. In 1990, a jury decided that Ford infringed on Kearns’ patent, though it concluded the infringement was not deliberate. Ford had contended the patent was invalid because the windshield system contained no new concepts. But Kearns argued a new combination of parts made his invention unique.

That jury failed to reach agreement on how much he should be awarded, and another jury later ordered Ford to pay Kearns $6.3 million, trimmed by a judge to $5.2 million. To settle the case, Ford agreed to pay $10.2 million and to drop all appeals. Chrysler ended up paying Kearns $18.7 million plus interest.

Interesting to read are the following Robert Kearns patents:

1) Windshield Wiper System with Intermittent Operation; United States Patent 3,351,836

2) Intermittent Windshield Wiper System; United States Patent 3,602,790,

3) Intermittant windshield wiper control system with improved motor speed; United States Patent 4,544,870

Amidst the scriptwriters' on-going hunt for ubiquitous-ly laudable subject matters, it would be interesting to see the portrayal of the patent system on a motion medium. A neat way to drive home the point about the need for the system and its intricacies, too, albeit Hollywood style!

References:

[1] http://www.flashofgenius.net/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Kearns

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler

[5] http://www.google.com/patents?id=_qVQAAAAEBAJ&dq=Robert+Kearns (US Patent 3351836)

[6] http://www.google.com/patents?id=JF4TAAAAEBAJ&dq=Robert+Kearns (US Patent 3602790)

[7] http://www.google.com/patents?id=EO8rAAAAEBAJ&dq=Robert+Kearns (US Patent 4544870)