We get several goods delivered to our respective Reef Builders’ offices located around the world. One such package caught our eye more than others. In the package from Ecoxotic was a new patent that recently got approved as officially official.
The patent in question US8646934 references an aquarium light strip, which describes the abstract, as a “lighting system and apparatus that maybe utilized with aquariums.” The actual claim is a modular aquarium light fixture that has “cavities” that allow modular upgrades and their respective ‘support’ systems including a heat sink circuit boards and the like.
The patent was filed way back in 2010 and was recently granted approval to a holding company that represents Ecoxotic’s interests. You might not remember back in 2008, Orbitec, a company that supplied random items to (NASA) sued PFO lighting for their original patent claim in 2009 that really started the patent frenzy and small businesses covering their rear ends with legal preceedings. PFO was one of the original high-end LED suppliers to the aquatics industry especially the luxury reef aquarium market. They unwisely did not check for any aforementioned patent and got sued into oblivion with the folks from PFO moving on to other and hopefully better things. Since then we have been monitoring different patent filings from all over the United States.
US8656934 Aquarium light strip might have impacts in other CPG verticals (such as the growing horticulture industry) among others. Feel free to do the light reading on the patent and let us know in the comments your thoughts.
