Aiken had also filed similar patents after his early attempts.
Bourn produced a similar patent in the same year.
In 1855, James Harrison received a similar patent for an ice maker in Australia.
How deeply Eyre was involved is not clear, but in 1736, he took out a similar patent in his own name.
Festo Corporation already owned two similar patents (although their initial patent application was rejected) for this industrial device.
Apple had filed for a similar patent on 22 October 2002 but that application was rejected.
The cost of a patent search alone, made to discover whether similar patents are already in existence, is about $500.
Berger said that throughout the years there have been opinions of various attorneys general on similar patents that support his contention.
It cannot be a copy because they do hold very similar patents.
A dozen more similar patents have been issued since.
