Especially For Our Alabama Readers: A Patented Process For Turning An Electric Toothbrush Into A Vibrator

Posted on December 31, 2007 by Ann Bartow

U.S. Patent No. 7,186,226 is a patent for a method of making a”massage device”out of an electric toothbrush, and includes claims pertaining to a process for removing the bristles from the head of the brush (because, ouch). The patent states that an object of the invention is to”provide a process for making a sexual massage device that is small and discrete; the appearance of most sex toys is usually very indicative of their purpose which can be embarrassing for owners and users.”And of course they are illegal in Alabama…

–Ann Bartow

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0 Responses to Especially For Our Alabama Readers: A Patented Process For Turning An Electric Toothbrush Into A Vibrator

  1. Ralph M. Stein says:
    December 31, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    If anyone produces and markets this device it might serve for a good test case in Alabama.

  2. Eric says:
    January 1, 2008 at 8:24 am

    Actually, it’s my understanding that toothbrushes are also illegal in at least some Alabama counties.

  3. Ann Bartow says:
    January 1, 2008 at 8:57 am

    Ralph, it isn’t a device that has been patented here, it’s a method – it is a process (rather than product) patent. The test case would come if folks who licensed and practiced the patented method got arrested in Alabama.

    Eric, hey careful. After you’ve lived in a the South a couple more years those kinds of quips won’t seem funny anymore, football season excepted.

  4. Ralph M. Stein says:
    January 1, 2008 at 4:11 pm

    Ann,

    Thanks for the correction. That’s why I teach Con Law – I can’t handle the technical stuff. :)

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