By: Mark R. Malek

You guessed it – Charlie Sheen.  The patent indicates the inventor as Carlos Irwin Estevez, which is good ol’ Charlie’s real name.  You can read about the very complicated and sophisticated invention that is disclosed in the patent here.

Patents are for Winners

The patent is directed to a “Chapstick Dispensing Apparatus.”  In my short read, it appears that this invention is directed to a device that holds a lip balm container.  Here’s the part that made me chuckle – using another company’s trademark in the title of the patent.  Chapstick is a registered trademark of Wyeth Corporation, the makers of the famous lip balm that is, apparently, an absolute necessity when living in cold dry climates…like anywhere north of here in Florida!  In my search, it appears as though Chapstick has about 19 registered trademarks and 11 others that are either in the application phase, or that have been abandoned.

Wyeth probably will not make a stink with the company that Charlie’s invention is assigned to – Masheen, Inc.  Before you ask, yes, I did a trademark search for Masheen, Inc. and there was, indeed, a trademark application filed for the name, but it is no abandoned.  Since his trademark application has gone abandoned, all of our readers should still feel free to use the word washing “machines” to describe those devices in their homes that are used to clean their clothes.

This just shows you that it takes Tiger Blood and Adonis DNA to be an inventor sometimes.