The 2024 holiday season is upon us, and for those still shopping for the IP attorney in their lives, we’ve compiled a list of gift ideas for your last-minute shopping needs. Each year, we reach out to a few industry insiders for gift ideas that are practical, humorous or professional in nature. From smart calendar displays to marble run model kits, the following list offers several options for rounding out your gift giving plans.
reMarkable 2 Notebook Tablet
It’s easier to diagram workflows of inventive processes or systems using pen and paper, but those handwritten notes must be converted to a digital form. The reMarkable 2 Notebook Tablet gives users the ability to create PDF documents directly from handwritten notes on a screen providing similar tactile feedback to traditional paper. The reMarkable 2 offers two weeks of service life with a full battery charge and can convert handwritten notes to digital text. The tablet’s Marker stylus is stored with the device magnetically and has built-in eraser functionality. The reMarkable 2 offers a Type Folio mode for typing in notes by keyboard, and a Connect mode that exports documents from the device via the cloud.
WoodTrick Galaxy Marble Run Wooden Model Kit
Many IP attorneys have rolled their eyes at the mere mention of perpetual motion machines, but the Galaxy Marble Run by 3D wooden puzzle maker WoodTrick provides the illusion of perpetual movement with an electric motorized marble track. Suggested by Jonathan Stroud, General Counsel at Unified Patents, this wooden planetary model assembles in six to eight hours from a total of 678 wooden pieces that snap into place without glue. According to WoodTrick’s website, the Galaxy Marble Run’s appearance was inspired by planetary movement, featuring three separate yet interconnected tracks that engage the wooden model in constant motion. The Galaxy Marble Run requires four AA batteries to power the track’s electric motor and each set comes with 12 marbles.
Portable Mini Desktop Vacuum
Between drafting applications and preparing responses to office actions, many IP attorneys spend a great deal of their workday at their computer. One cheap stocking stuffer idea for the IP attorney in your life is a mini desktop vacuum that can quickly remove crumbs built up from numerous snack breaks. Several cube-shaped options designed for modern desks exist through third-party sellers on Amazon, one of the more highly-rated options being the FineInno Mini Crumb Vacuum Cleaner. This handheld vacuum can pick up small crumbs, paper scraps and even debris stuck in keyboards thanks to the soft silicone brush located underneath the unit. FineInno also markets its mini vacuum as useful for furniture, car interiors and other areas difficult for traditional vacuums to reach.
Ryobi 18V ONE+ High Pressure Digital Inflator
IP attorneys travel many miles by car over the course of their careers. Carlo Cotrone, former Group Chief IP Counsel and Assistant General Counsel for Techtronic Industries (TTI), recommended the 18V ONE+ High Pressure Digital Inflator, marketed by TTI power tools brand Ryobi. This battery-powered inflator can increase air pressure in tires up to 160 pounds per square inch (PSI) with an automatic shut-off feature. This Ryobi product also comes with a pinch valve adaptor, a presta valve adaptor for bike tires and a sports needle for footballs and other recreational inflatables; these adaptors can be carried in the unit’s on-board accessory storage for easy access when required. Ryobi’s 18V ONE+ battery is also compatible with more than 300 Ryobi power tools in the ONE+ product line. As Cotrone notes, this power tool is handy while on-the-go and can also avoid vexing trips to the gas station when tires need to be inflated.
Chip War by Chris Miller
Microchips have arguably eclipsed oil as the world’s most valuable resource thanks to critical military and consumer applications. While the United States has historically enjoyed a dominant position in chipmaking, current challenges to that lead are profiled in Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology by economic historian Chris Miller. This New York Times Bestseller, another recommendation from Jonathan Stroud, discusses the history of microchip development and how this technology became so crucial to the functioning of modern life. It continues with accounts of how Asian and European countries have cut into America’s technological lead, focusing on China’s billion-dollar chip-building program established to surpass America’s military and economic superiority. Given the support of America’s semiconductor industry through recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Chip War is a timely account of economic tensions in a technological area of interest to many IP attorneys.
Skylight Smart Calendar Display
The careers of most IP attorneys revolve around meeting a constant stream of work deadlines, and the complexity of that schedule is compounded for those prosecuting separate patent families. The Skylight Smart Calendar Display serves patent and other practitioners by dedicating an entire monitor to ensuring that important deadlines don’t fall by the wayside. The Skylight calendar is available in 10-inch, 15-inch and 27-inch display sizes and auto-syncs with several popular calendar apps through a WiFi connection. Skylight’s own mobile app gives users the ability to color code event reminders and access can be shared with multiple users, helping teams within the legal department stay on the same page. Although marketed as a product for families on-the-go, it’s not difficult to see how certain functions like the Skylight’s chore chart could be repurposed to help assign prosecution tasks to different team members.
Antsy Labs Fidget Cube
For most patent practitioners, grappling with obviousness doctrine for even a few short minutes can require several brief moments of mental respite. Another stocking stuffer idea, the Fidget Cube from Antsy Labs provides different forms of haptic feedback on each of the cube’s six sides. The Fidget Cube allows users to engage with clicking, spinning, rolling, gliding and flipping functions, keeping their hands busy while their minds are otherwise engaged. The Fidget Cube is available in several colors and Antsy Labs also offers a series of Fidget Cubes branded as either DC or Marvel characters, perfect for IP attorneys with a strong connection to comic book superheroes.
Patent Art Wall Hangings
Technical drawings attached to patent applications can themselves have an artistic quality that immediately convey the nature of an attorney’s practice to potential clients. Karmanya Singh Sareen, Senior Partner at IP rights consulting firm Kommit, suggested these scale and gavel patent diagram prints for lawyers who want to indicate a general prosecution practice, or these space patent prints for attorneys with an interest in aeronautics. Several other themed patent wall art sets or websites offering canvas patent prints also exist to suit the technical interests or aesthetic styles of any patent attorney.
