• Rockin’ Patent®: US Patent No. 6,933,430
• Filed: 21 January 2003
• In the name of: John Jeffrey Oskorep
• Title: Guitar Pick Holder Made Of A Flexible Magnetic Body
  
• What’s claimed: “A guitar pick holder, comprising: a flexible magnet; the flexible magnet being made of a soft flexible rubber or plastic; the flexible magnet having a front magnetic surface for use in magnetically holding a magnetically receptive guitar pick; and the flexible magnet having a rear adhering surface comprising a repositionable adhesive for use in repositionably adhering the flexible magnet to a surface of a guitar, such that the guitar pick holder is removable, reapplicable, and repositionable over the surface”.
• Why this patent rocks: It relates to a guitar pick (or ‘plectrum’) holder that can be attached to the guitar so you can keep your picks nearby when you’re playing, but can also be removed from and reattached to the guitar if needed.
  • This patent describes the familiar problem (to anyone who plays guitar!) of retrieving a guitar pick or plectrum, e.g. if one is accidentally dropped while playing live: “[a] guitar is typically played with a “guitar pick”, which is used to strike or pluck strings of the guitar. Many guitar players carry a number of guitar picks with them as they are relatively small, easily lost, and inexpensive. However, it is often inconvenient to store or retrieve guitar picks. Guitar picks are typically carried in pants pockets and/or within guitar cases and need to be retrieved when the guitar is played. When a guitar is taken out of its guitar case, for example, a guitar pick must be retrieved from some location. Conversely, when a guitar is placed back in its case, the guitar pick must be stored somewhere. When a guitar player is playing and accidentally drops or intentionally tosses away the guitar pick, it is desirable to be able to quickly retrieve another one”.
  • This patent also describes the importance of the appearance of a guitar to a guitar player: “[t]he appearance of guitars and guitar picks are also important to guitar players, and therefore it is preferable that any method used to hold or carry guitar picks does not detract from how these items look. Furthermore, any guitar pick holding system should be inexpensively made so that it may become commercially available and ubiquitous to a large number of consumers. Promotional techniques are also important in the industry”.
  • The patent, broadly “is directed to a guitar pick holder made of a flexible magnetic body. The flexible magnetic body has a rear adhering surface for adhering to a surface of a guitar and a front magnetic surface for magnetically holding a guitar pick. The guitar pick for use with the guitar pick holder is made of a synthetic material (e.g. plastic) but also includes a magnetically receptive material (e.g. metal such as iron)”.

If you’re a patent-savvy music tech business looking for patent help, get in touch with Russell IP here! 

The information above is for general interest and information only and does not constitute legal advice.