Jim Drake (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Jim Drake is an American
aeronautics
engineer
, who is credited as the inventor of windsurfing
. Although after later patent
disputes and court cases, there were discovered earlier design by Englishman
Peter Chilvers
and American Newman Darby
, and even Drake is accepts he is at best third in inventing the sport; he was the engineer who perfect the concepts of board and rig layout, and the universal joint
which have remained core to the activity to today.
. What is known is that he worked for Rockwell
and their division RAND Corporation, worked for North American Aviation, and was on secondment to The Pentagon
for various periods of his career both directly and indirectly, part of which was associated with the development of improved Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
s during the Cold War
of the 1960s and 70's.
at his home in Southern California
, Drake and his former Rockwell
boss and now good friend Fred Payne
, who worked at The Pentagon
, discussed options for creating a wind-powered water-ski which would allow Payne to travel on the Potomac River
. That night they developed the idea of a kite
powered surfboard. On later reflection, Drake didn't like the integrity of the idea and dismissed it. There were already a number of sailboard designs available, and Drake also was concerned about the integrity of a design needing taught wire close to a human body to keep the sail upright.
Still developing the idea, Drake's wife met the pregnant Diana Schweitzer, and the two families became good friends through their children. Drake mentioned the idea to surfer
Hoyle Schweitzer who wanted to develop it, but Drake was still unsure of how to control and steer what he envisaged in a design concept as a surfboard with upright sail design, where by the sailor stood upright on the board holding the sail.
The technical problem was that most boats steer by differentiating the angle of attack in the water between the centre board and the rudder, and Drake's question came down to simple operation of how a standing person could control both the power of the sail as well as the direction of the craft.
In 1967, while driving between his home and a contract at the Norton Air Force Base
in San Bernardino
, Drake had time to reflect on early 17th century based sail ship control. Rudders then were weak and ineffective, mostly used for trimming course. Hence with multi-masted boats, the sailors would trim the upper sails on the forward and rewards masts to steer the ship.
Dismissing the idea of a design with two upright sails, Drake decided to move the sail by rotation, as moving it linearly would require a mechanical system. Experimenting with a rotational design which became the concept for the universal joint
, whereby the angle of attack of the sail to the board could be varied to allow control of both power and craft direction. Drake finished the design by using an earlier but for them failed invention of East Coast racing sail, and added a wishbone boom
.
. In May 1967, Drake and both families went to Marina del Rey to try the two universal joint designs. Met by Broussard who happened to be on his bicycle, the first design failed, but the second worked. Drake admits he had though through many of the ideas of control, but hadn't thought about how he would raise the sail from the water, so on this first run got Broussard to wade into the water to give it to him.
Although the design worked, Drake was frustrated by the control mechanism, the need for pulling the sail out of the water, and continually ending up in the water when he lost control: effectively, he was teaching himself to windsurf while creating the prototype.
Having remembered to insert a skeg
this time, Drake added a lanyard
(now called an uphaul) by which he could stand up and haul his own sail out of the water. Returning to Marina del Rey two weeks later, Drake was impressed enough by the improved prototype to allow Hoyle to arrange a launch party for what they had called the "Skate."
However, they found another company had already used the name "Skate" and were preparing to copyright it, so decided on the name "Baja Board." While developing the design and patent paperwork, in late 1967/early 1968, Hoyle was showing a prototype "Baja Board" in Seattle, when Public Relations
man Bert Salisbury stopped his car to have a look, and commented: "Gee I have the perfect name for it! The WINDSURFER!"
The details of the original designs are available in Drake's white paper on windsurfing, and these interviews with Jim Drake. Despite forty years of subsequent development, the design is still remarkably similar to today's windsurfing equipment, and the word "windsurfer" has become synonymous with the sport itself. There is also a video of Drake's early attempts to teach himself windsurfing.
, which was granted by the USPTO in 1970. There is no evidence that they had knowledge of any prior inventions similar to theirs, but Drake accepts in retrospect that although he can be credited with invention, he was "probably no better than third," behind Englishman
Peter Chilvers
and mid-west based Newman Darby
. The patent was wholly licensed by Drake and Hoyle to Windsurfing International.
Subsequently in 1968, Hoyle and Diana Schweitzer founded the company Windsurfing International in Southern California to manufacture, promote and license a windsurfer design. The company registered the term "windsurfer" as a trademark
at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
in 1973, launching the craft as a one-design
class. Going one-design
was influenced by the success of the Laser
and Hobie Cat
classes. Each Windsurfer had an identical computer-cut sail, a technology new at that time and pioneered by Ian Bruce
and the Laser class.
In 1968, Hoyle's other business collapsed, and he and Diane moved to Newport Beach; at the same time Drake accepted a two year secondment to The Pentagon, and moved to Washington DC. Immediately, Hoyle offered Drake to buy out his half of the patent, and it was only when Hoyle pointed out ownership of the company that the relationship between the pair began to fall apart. Having returned to California, in 1973 Drake sold his half of the patent to Windsurfing International for the sum of $36,000.
after the sale of a sub-license sold to Ten Cate in Holland.
At the same time, Schweitzer also sought to defend his patent rights vigorously against unauthorized manufacturers. This led to a host of pre-dating windsurfer-like devices being presented to courts around the world by companies disputing Windsurfing International's rights to the invention.
In 1979, Schweitzer licensed Brittany
, France
-based company Dufour Wing, which was later merged with Tabur Marine - the precursor of Bic Sport. Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies - Tabur, F2, Mistral - wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International.
Tabur lawyers found prior art, in a local English
newspaper which had published a single story with a picture about Peter Chilvers
, who as a young boy on Hayling Island
on the south coast of England, assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958. They also found stories published about the 1964 invention of the Darby Sailboard by Newman Darby
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
. .
In Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (GB) Ltd. 1985 RPC 59, with Tabur backed financially by French sailing fanatic Baron Marcel Bich, British courts recognized the prior art of Peter Chilvers. It did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a "straight split boom" that became curved in use. The courts found that the Schweitzer windsurfer boom was "merely an obvious extension". It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of inventive step and non-obviousness
; the court upheld the defendant's claim that the Schweitzer patent was invalid, based on film footage of Chilvers. Schweitzer then sued the company in Canada
, where the opposition team again financially backed by Bic included Chilvers and Jim Drake, and lost again. After the cases, no longer obliged to pay Windsurfing International and royalty payments, the now renamed Bic Sport became the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment, with an annual production of 15,000 boards.
In 1983, Schweitzer sued Swiss board manufacturer Mistral, which is today still a major sailboard manufacturer, and lost. Mistral's defense hinged on the work of US inventor Newman Darby
, who in the mid-sixties conceived the "sailboard": a hand-held square rigged "kite" sail on a floating platform for recreational use. Darby's published version did not show any connection between the rig and the board (the mast simply rested in a depression on the board) but it did refer to a "more complex swivel step for advanced riders not shown". He published his "sailboard" design in August 1965 Popular Science
magazine. Darby organized Darby Industries Inc in 1964 to build these sailboards. However, the sailboard never gained popularity, and Darby's company ceased operations by the end of the 1960s.
Eventually US courts recognized the Schweitzer windsurfer as an obvious step from Chilvers prior art. Schweitzer had to reapply for a patent under severely limited terms, and finally it expired in 1987. Shortly thereafter, having lost its license royalty income, Windsurfing International ceased operations.
In 1983, Australia
n courts reported a patent case in "Intellectual Property Reports" 3 IPR 449, attributed the first legally accepted use to an Australian boy, Richard Eastaugh. Between the ages of ten and thirteen, from 1946 to 1949, aided by his younger brothers, he built around 20 galvanized iron canoes and hill trolleys which he equipped with sails with split bamboo booms. He sailed these near his home on the Swan River
in Perth
. There is no evidence that any of the later "inventors" ever sighted the Eastaugh craft of a decade earlier on the other side of the world.
It is acknowledged that the separate Chilvers, Darby and inventions all pre-dated the Drake and Schweitzer patent.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, who is credited as the inventor of windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
. Although after later patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
disputes and court cases, there were discovered earlier design by Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers is an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard.-Life:Chilvers has been an engineer for Lotus and has founded a sailing and windsurfing centre in London...
and American Newman Darby
Newman Darby
Newman Darby is an American inventor best known as the inventor of the sailboard.-Biography:He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and began building boats when he was 12...
, and even Drake is accepts he is at best third in inventing the sport; he was the engineer who perfect the concepts of board and rig layout, and the universal joint
Universal joint
A universal joint, universal coupling, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint or coupling in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion...
which have remained core to the activity to today.
Aeronautics career
Drake trained as an aeronautical engineer, although as most of his work was for the US Government, most of the details remain to this day top secretTop Secret
Top Secret generally refers to the highest acknowledged level of classified information.Top Secret may also refer to:- Film and television :* Top Secret , a British comedy directed by Mario Zampi...
. What is known is that he worked for Rockwell
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
and their division RAND Corporation, worked for North American Aviation, and was on secondment to The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
for various periods of his career both directly and indirectly, part of which was associated with the development of improved Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
s during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
of the 1960s and 70's.
Invention of windsurfing
Drake, a Californian by birth, loved the water and sailing. In 1964, over a discussion on water sports over a brandyBrandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
at his home in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, Drake and his former Rockwell
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
boss and now good friend Fred Payne
Fred Payne (disambiguation)
Fred Payne may refer to:*Fred Payne, Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox*Frederick Payne of the Payne Brothers pantomime act*Frederick G. Payne, U.S. politician*Fred Payne , Australian rules footballer...
, who worked at The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, discussed options for creating a wind-powered water-ski which would allow Payne to travel on the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. That night they developed the idea of a kite
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
powered surfboard. On later reflection, Drake didn't like the integrity of the idea and dismissed it. There were already a number of sailboard designs available, and Drake also was concerned about the integrity of a design needing taught wire close to a human body to keep the sail upright.
Still developing the idea, Drake's wife met the pregnant Diana Schweitzer, and the two families became good friends through their children. Drake mentioned the idea to surfer
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
Hoyle Schweitzer who wanted to develop it, but Drake was still unsure of how to control and steer what he envisaged in a design concept as a surfboard with upright sail design, where by the sailor stood upright on the board holding the sail.
The technical problem was that most boats steer by differentiating the angle of attack in the water between the centre board and the rudder, and Drake's question came down to simple operation of how a standing person could control both the power of the sail as well as the direction of the craft.
In 1967, while driving between his home and a contract at the Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base is a former front-line United States Air Force facility located east of downtown San Bernardino, California in San Bernardino County.-Overview:...
in San Bernardino
San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
, Drake had time to reflect on early 17th century based sail ship control. Rudders then were weak and ineffective, mostly used for trimming course. Hence with multi-masted boats, the sailors would trim the upper sails on the forward and rewards masts to steer the ship.
Dismissing the idea of a design with two upright sails, Drake decided to move the sail by rotation, as moving it linearly would require a mechanical system. Experimenting with a rotational design which became the concept for the universal joint
Universal joint
A universal joint, universal coupling, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint or coupling in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion...
, whereby the angle of attack of the sail to the board could be varied to allow control of both power and craft direction. Drake finished the design by using an earlier but for them failed invention of East Coast racing sail, and added a wishbone boom
Wishbone boom
thumb|right|300pxThe wishbone boom on sailing craft is most commonly seen on windsurfing boards .The wishbone boom on larger sailing craft is a double-sided boom set at an angle to the mast and typically supported by line stays from the leading edge of the mast to each side of the boom...
.
Drake's first prototype, the Windsurfer name
Drake built a concept in his garage. Hoyle supplied two sails that were adapted to the two options of rigs Drake built, by sail maker Bob Broussard into a triangular Bermuda rigBermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
. In May 1967, Drake and both families went to Marina del Rey to try the two universal joint designs. Met by Broussard who happened to be on his bicycle, the first design failed, but the second worked. Drake admits he had though through many of the ideas of control, but hadn't thought about how he would raise the sail from the water, so on this first run got Broussard to wade into the water to give it to him.
Although the design worked, Drake was frustrated by the control mechanism, the need for pulling the sail out of the water, and continually ending up in the water when he lost control: effectively, he was teaching himself to windsurf while creating the prototype.
Having remembered to insert a skeg
Skeg
A skeg is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard...
this time, Drake added a lanyard
Lanyard
A lanyard is a rope or cord exclusively worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. Usually it is used where there is a risk of losing the object or to ensure it is visible at all times. Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure objects...
(now called an uphaul) by which he could stand up and haul his own sail out of the water. Returning to Marina del Rey two weeks later, Drake was impressed enough by the improved prototype to allow Hoyle to arrange a launch party for what they had called the "Skate."
However, they found another company had already used the name "Skate" and were preparing to copyright it, so decided on the name "Baja Board." While developing the design and patent paperwork, in late 1967/early 1968, Hoyle was showing a prototype "Baja Board" in Seattle, when Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
man Bert Salisbury stopped his car to have a look, and commented: "Gee I have the perfect name for it! The WINDSURFER!"
The details of the original designs are available in Drake's white paper on windsurfing, and these interviews with Jim Drake. Despite forty years of subsequent development, the design is still remarkably similar to today's windsurfing equipment, and the word "windsurfer" has become synonymous with the sport itself. There is also a video of Drake's early attempts to teach himself windsurfing.
Windsurfing International
In 1968, Drake and Hoyle together as individuals filed the very first windsurfing patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, which was granted by the USPTO in 1970. There is no evidence that they had knowledge of any prior inventions similar to theirs, but Drake accepts in retrospect that although he can be credited with invention, he was "probably no better than third," behind Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers is an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard.-Life:Chilvers has been an engineer for Lotus and has founded a sailing and windsurfing centre in London...
and mid-west based Newman Darby
Newman Darby
Newman Darby is an American inventor best known as the inventor of the sailboard.-Biography:He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and began building boats when he was 12...
. The patent was wholly licensed by Drake and Hoyle to Windsurfing International.
Subsequently in 1968, Hoyle and Diana Schweitzer founded the company Windsurfing International in Southern California to manufacture, promote and license a windsurfer design. The company registered the term "windsurfer" as a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
in 1973, launching the craft as a one-design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
class. Going one-design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
was influenced by the success of the Laser
Laser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
and Hobie Cat
Hobie cat
A Hobie Cat is a small sailing catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company. Begun as a manufacturer of surf boards in the late 1950s, Hobie began manufacturing catamaran sailboats in the late 1960s and has become the largest manufacturer of small catamarans in the world...
classes. Each Windsurfer had an identical computer-cut sail, a technology new at that time and pioneered by Ian Bruce
Ian Bruce
-Early life:He attended Chelmsford Technical High School. He studied Electronics at the University of Bradford, then an HNC in Electronics at Mid-Essex Technical College. He was a student apprentice at Marconi in Chelmsford from 1965-8. From 1968-9, he was a Work Study Engineer. From 1969-70, he...
and the Laser class.
In 1968, Hoyle's other business collapsed, and he and Diane moved to Newport Beach; at the same time Drake accepted a two year secondment to The Pentagon, and moved to Washington DC. Immediately, Hoyle offered Drake to buy out his half of the patent, and it was only when Hoyle pointed out ownership of the company that the relationship between the pair began to fall apart. Having returned to California, in 1973 Drake sold his half of the patent to Windsurfing International for the sum of $36,000.
Patent disputes
Through the seventies, Schweitzer aggressively promoted and licensed the Windsurfing International design and licensed the patent to manufacturers worldwide. The sport underwent very rapid growth, particularly in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after the sale of a sub-license sold to Ten Cate in Holland.
At the same time, Schweitzer also sought to defend his patent rights vigorously against unauthorized manufacturers. This led to a host of pre-dating windsurfer-like devices being presented to courts around the world by companies disputing Windsurfing International's rights to the invention.
In 1979, Schweitzer licensed Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-based company Dufour Wing, which was later merged with Tabur Marine - the precursor of Bic Sport. Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies - Tabur, F2, Mistral - wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International.
Tabur lawyers found prior art, in a local English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
newspaper which had published a single story with a picture about Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers is an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard.-Life:Chilvers has been an engineer for Lotus and has founded a sailing and windsurfing centre in London...
, who as a young boy on Hayling Island
Hayling Island
-Leisure activities:Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre, the site where windsurfing was invented....
on the south coast of England, assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958. They also found stories published about the 1964 invention of the Darby Sailboard by Newman Darby
Newman Darby
Newman Darby is an American inventor best known as the inventor of the sailboard.-Biography:He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and began building boats when he was 12...
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. .
In Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (GB) Ltd. 1985 RPC 59, with Tabur backed financially by French sailing fanatic Baron Marcel Bich, British courts recognized the prior art of Peter Chilvers. It did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a "straight split boom" that became curved in use. The courts found that the Schweitzer windsurfer boom was "merely an obvious extension". It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of inventive step and non-obviousness
Inventive step and non-obviousness
The inventive step and non-obviousness reflect a same general patentability requirement present in most patent laws, according to which an invention should be sufficiently inventive — i.e., non-obvious — in order to be patented....
; the court upheld the defendant's claim that the Schweitzer patent was invalid, based on film footage of Chilvers. Schweitzer then sued the company in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where the opposition team again financially backed by Bic included Chilvers and Jim Drake, and lost again. After the cases, no longer obliged to pay Windsurfing International and royalty payments, the now renamed Bic Sport became the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment, with an annual production of 15,000 boards.
In 1983, Schweitzer sued Swiss board manufacturer Mistral, which is today still a major sailboard manufacturer, and lost. Mistral's defense hinged on the work of US inventor Newman Darby
Newman Darby
Newman Darby is an American inventor best known as the inventor of the sailboard.-Biography:He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and began building boats when he was 12...
, who in the mid-sixties conceived the "sailboard": a hand-held square rigged "kite" sail on a floating platform for recreational use. Darby's published version did not show any connection between the rig and the board (the mast simply rested in a depression on the board) but it did refer to a "more complex swivel step for advanced riders not shown". He published his "sailboard" design in August 1965 Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
magazine. Darby organized Darby Industries Inc in 1964 to build these sailboards. However, the sailboard never gained popularity, and Darby's company ceased operations by the end of the 1960s.
Eventually US courts recognized the Schweitzer windsurfer as an obvious step from Chilvers prior art. Schweitzer had to reapply for a patent under severely limited terms, and finally it expired in 1987. Shortly thereafter, having lost its license royalty income, Windsurfing International ceased operations.
In 1983, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n courts reported a patent case in "Intellectual Property Reports" 3 IPR 449, attributed the first legally accepted use to an Australian boy, Richard Eastaugh. Between the ages of ten and thirteen, from 1946 to 1949, aided by his younger brothers, he built around 20 galvanized iron canoes and hill trolleys which he equipped with sails with split bamboo booms. He sailed these near his home on the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. There is no evidence that any of the later "inventors" ever sighted the Eastaugh craft of a decade earlier on the other side of the world.
It is acknowledged that the separate Chilvers, Darby and inventions all pre-dated the Drake and Schweitzer patent.