Jeff Bridges says that Google no longer supports patent searches.
But it does: http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en You have to dig
a little to get to that link, at least on the presentation of Google
on my computer. Click on MORE, then in the pull-down that appears
click on STILL MORE, then scroll down to PATENT SEARCHES.
I doubt you are going to find any U.S. patents for a complete Wurlitzer
band organ. That's not how patenting works. A lot of what Wurlitzer
used was borrowed/copied/stolen from European sources, and thus
couldn't be patented by Wurlitzer, although it might have been patented
in the country of origin. Other features that were patentable because
they were new inventions would be patented piecemeal, as developed and
used. You could never patent a complete band organ because the organ
as a whole does not embody a new and original design, concept, or
creation.
Wurlitzer possibly could secure a design patent on the layout of a band
organ. I don't know, not being a patent expert.
Some aspects of creativity aren't protected by law, because to do so
would stifle creativity. For example, the book "Gone With The Wind"
was covered by copyright. But that copyright protection did not extend
to removing the phrase "Gone With The Wind" from use by others. Anybody
could publish a different book or create a movie with that title. The
copyright covered only the wording of the text, prohibiting the issuance
of an exact copy of that text or any revised version of it that a court
would find to constitute infringement.
Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, New York
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