SEE A MONKEY, SWING THROUGH

SEE A MONKEY, SWING THROUGH THE TREES, INFRINGE A PATENT

In 1998 Darren Hreniuk, a transplanted Canadian entrepreneur, received a 20-year patent from Costa Rica's Industrial Property Registry for "an elevated forest transport system using harnesses and pulleys on a single horizontal line, using gravity for propulsion."    Mr. Hreniuk is now seeking to enforce this patent against Costa Rican canopy tour operators who use pulleys, ropes and gravity to swing visitors through the country's rain forests (to the tune of $120 million a year). 

This article is another in the issued patents "running amok" category, but it is unusual to see a "bad patent" article about a patent issued in Central America.  The story even uses the word "gadfly".

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<date name="when" value="Tue, 23 Mar 2004 00:51:15 GMT