Patent Attorney Review of U.S. Patent 9,930,911

Tucker Law has long discussed patents related to marijuana.  For example, one can obtain a patent on a marijuana plant, but not on a product solely directed to an illegal use, such as smoking marijuana.  Nevertheless, most marijuana related patents can be used for things other than an illegal purpose.  This is the case of Patent Number 9,930,911.  In reality, nobody smokes cigarettes out of a water bong; instead water bongs are the product of choose for inhaling a large amount of weed.

On April 3, 2018, Week 14, Number 1449-1, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published issued U.S. Patent Number 9,930,911.  The patent describes, inter alia:

According to the principle of the invention, in a water pipe including a water container coupled between a drawtube and a smoke inlet tube, improvements therein include a bowl assembly including a hollow adapter and a hollow bowl fixture. The hollow adapter has a first section connected to the smoke inlet tube and an opposed second section, and a bowl support extends radially outward from hollow adapter between the first and second sections. The second section includes an inner end near the bowl support, a closed outer end, and an opening through second section between the inner end and the closed outer end. The hollow bowl fixture is positioned on the bowl support and over the second section. The hollow bowl fixture includes a continuous sidewall that extends from an inwardly-directed upper flange encircling the closed outer end of the second section on an outer side of the opening to an inwardly-directed lower flange encircling the inner end of the second section on an inner side of the opening, and a smoke-collection chamber between the inwardly-directed upper flange and the inwardly-directed lower flange through which the second section extends from the inner end of the second section to the closed outer end of the second section. The inwardly-directed upper flange cooperates with the closed outer end of the second section to form a bowl for receiving a substance to be smoked and a smoke-inhalation pathway between the inwardly-directed upper flange and the closed outer end of the second section for the passage of inhalation smoke therethrough from the bowl to the smoke-collection chamber. The opening through second section between the inner end and the closed outer end is for the passage of inhalation smoke therethrough from the smoke-collection chamber to the hollow adapter for application to the smoke inlet tube of the water pipe. The first section is connected to the smoke inlet tube via insertion of the first section into an open smoke inlet end of the smoke inlet tube. The hollow adapter is integrally formed of glass, and the hollow bowl fixture is integrally formed of glass.

As a patent attorney and upon a cursory review of the claims, the claims in this patent appear well written overall.  Without reviewing the file history, it would be interesting to know whether the claims could be broader as it relates to including a water container coupled between a drawtube and a smoke inlet tube, as provided in the preamble of Claim 1.

If you have a great idea, contact a patent attorney at Tucker Law to learn how to protect your idea.  Don’t Just Lawyer Up, Tucker Up!  Call 1-833-TUCKERUP to speak with a registered patent attorney in our office.