IDiyas Inventors Newsletter November 18, 2025

🧪 From Pain Relief to Power Fields: When Chemistry Meets Purpose

November 18, 2025

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See this week's breakthrough USPTO patent grants!

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This Week's Patent News:

  1. ⚖️ Federal Circuit Fee Award in Hawk Tech v. Castle Retail. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed attorney’s fees against Hawk Technology Systems LLC, ruling its litigation position was “substantively weak.” The case involved streaming video patents, dismissed as abstract under Alice. Sources:

  2. 📜 Smartrend v. Opti-Luxx – Design Patent Claim Construction. The Federal Circuit found a district court improperly construed a design patent claim in Smartrend Manufacturing Group v. Opti-Luxx Inc. The ruling highlights stricter standards for interpreting design patents. Sources:

  3. 🏛️ Canatex v. Wellmatics – Indefinite Claims Ruling.The Federal Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had deemed claims indefinite due to “evident error.” This decision clarifies how courts should handle drafting mistakes in patent claims. Sources:

  4. 🔍 UPC Court of Appeal Decisions – Kodak v. Fujifilm & HL Display v. Black Sheep. The Unified Patent Court issued its first substantive rulings:

    • Invalidated Seoul Viosys’s patent for added matter.

    • Clarified directors’ liability in infringement cases.

    • Extended jurisdiction in HL Display v. Black Sheep across 14 countries.

    • Set aside penalty orders in Kodak v. Fujifilm. Sources:

  5. 🖋️ ASUS v. Xiaomi Settlement Talks; OPPO Litigation Continues. The UPC stayed lawsuits between ASUS and Xiaomi due to settlement negotiations, while litigation between ASUS and OPPO remains active. This reflects ongoing smartphone patent battles in Europe. Sources:

New weekly USPTO Patents data have been added.

6,870 Patents  
Utility: 6,250
Design: 613
Plant: 7

Top Inventors:

  1. Tao Luo - 14

  2. Xiaoxia Zhang - 8

  3. Muhammad S. K. Abdelghaffar - 8

  4. Herriot Tabuteau - 7

  5. Esmael Hejazi Dinan - 7

  6. Jian Wang - 6

  7. Jing Sun - 6

  1. Ahmed Attia Abotabl - 6

  2. Li Zhang - 6

  3. Kai Zhang - 6

  4. Christopher M. Varga - 5

  5. Hasnain Somji - 5

  6. Steven Todd Stragier - 5

  7. Kevin A. W. Martin - 5

  8. Zvi Or-Bach - 5

The Cool Gel That Clinicians Loved Before Consumers Ever Saw It

How a Cosmetic Chemist’s Menthol Formula Quietly Became a Global Pain-Relief Staple.

Biofreeze didn’t begin in a boardroom or a pharmaceutical R&D lab. It began with a cosmetic chemist, Dr. Danne Montague-King, and a very real problem close to home: his grandmother’s debilitating arthritis.

In the mid-1980s, Montague-King set out to create a topical product that could deliver fast relief without pills, prescriptions, or the heavy scent of traditional heat rubs.

His core innovation was simple and scientifically sound: high-quality menthol, a compound known to activate cold receptors and interrupt pain signaling. It’s not magic. It’s neurophysiology. Menthol creates a cooling sensation that temporarily shifts the brain’s perception of pain, giving joints and muscles a moment of calm.

The gel Montague-King developed didn’t launch with splashy marketing. Instead, it entered the world through a route that proved even more powerful: clinicians. Chiropractors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers began using it long before it reached retail shelves. They valued one thing above all. It worked. And in the clinical world, word of mouth travels fast.

By the early 1990s, the formula transitioned to new ownership and commercial distribution, expanding beyond treatment rooms and into sports programs, rehabilitation centers, and eventually everyday home medicine cabinets. Over the years, Biofreeze evolved into gels, sprays, and roll-ons, but its DNA never changed: fast-acting menthol-based pain relief grounded in legitimate sensory science.

No gimmicks. No mythology.
Just a cooling gel that earned its reputation one therapist, one athlete, and one sore joint at a time.

🚀 Why 46,000+ Founders, Engineers & Curious Innovators Read IDiyas

Every Tuesday, tens of thousands of smart, ambitious readers open IDiyas to get:

🌟 The untold backstories of world-changing inventions
📈 Real data and deep patent insights you won’t find anywhere else
💡 Innovation lessons you can actually apply
🧠 Stories that make you think, laugh, and get inspired again

If you love learning how ideas turn into breakthroughs, and how ordinary people become extraordinary inventors, then join the newsletter trusted by 46,000+ innovators across the world.

Trivia

🧠💡 Which inventor holds the record for the longest run of consecutive utility patent numbers assigned under their name? 

{Thanks to our subscriber: Belgacem Haba (641 patents and counting) for submitting this question. You too can submit trivia questions.}

Please scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to find out.

A Lifetime of Reaction and Impact: The Meritorious Mind of B. Raghava Reddy

B. Raghava Reddy is a distinguished chemist-turned-inventor whose work bridges academia and industry.

Armed with a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University (1980) and degrees from Osmania University, he began his career in academic research before moving into applied innovation with Fina, Halliburton, and Saudi Aramco.

Over his career, Reddy earned more than 350 U.S. patents and published 75 journal papers, ranking among the world’s top 1000 inventors.

His pioneering work in oilfield chemistry earned him the Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation from Hart Energy for developing technology that reduced water and boosted oil production in aging wells. A Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer (2014–2015), Reddy inspires younger innovators with his belief that true innovation thrives on continuous learning, teamwork, and ethical responsibility. “Love what you do,” he says, “and success follows like a shadow.”

Today in Patent History

The Table That Does the Dishes: 1997’s Most Brilliant Lazy Invention 🍽️🚿

On November 18, 1997, U.S. Patent No. 5,687,752 was granted for a “Dining Table Having Integral Dishwasher.” This clever invention combines a dining surface with a built-in dishwasher, allowing people to place dirty dishes directly into the table after a meal. Designed to save time, effort, and kitchen space, the integrated system eliminates the need to carry plates and utensils to a separate sink or appliance. The table could wash, rinse, and dry dishes using a compact water and drainage system concealed beneath the surface—an inventive blend of convenience and modern living that reimagined everyday dining and cleanup.

U.S. Patent No. 5,687,752

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Industrial robots are used to increase productivity, precision, and safety while reducing labor costs and human error. This UpFront Research report summarizes Patent use cases, prolific inventors, companies doing research like Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, and Fanuc corporation.

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Centurion Patentors

Congratulations to last week's Centurion Patentors!

The Centurion Patentors are 0.185% of ALL Inventors worldwide who hold more than one hundred U.S. patents. They are the Navy SEALs of innovation. They don’t just have good ideas once; they’ve built a discipline, a repeatable process for turning thought into impact.

We are excited to welcome the following inventors into these prestigious patent clubs:

Trivia

Answer: ✅ Inventor Abba J Kastin. His patent streak is 25 (4127517, 4127518, … 4127541).

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