Many titles were bestowed upon Michael Jackson during his lifetime, but one not commonly associated with him was "inventor".
But indeed, The King of Pop is listed as a co-inventor of United States Patent Number 5,255,452, entitled "METHOD AND MEANS FOR CREATING ANTI-GRAVITY ILLUSION", and covering shoes of the type worn while performing dance routines in his hit single "Smooth Criminal", where he famously incorporated a 45-degree lean in the choreography.
Abstract: A system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity by virtue of wearing a specially designed pair of shoes which will engage with a hitch member movably projectable through a stage surface. The shoes have a specially designed heel slot which can be detachably engaged with the hitch member by simply sliding the shoe wearer's foot forward, thereby engaging with the hitch member.
Oliver Ruiz and Sebestian Ohanian Contributed to this entry.
As a Registered Patent Attorney with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a law degree from the University of Miami, Mr. Matos is a Partner with the Firm, is Board Certified as an Expert in Intellectual Property Law, and concentrates his practice in the areas of Patent Prosecution, Litigation, Licensing, and Infringement Opinions. He has been rated as AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, also receiving a Judicial AV Preeminent Ranking, and presently serves as an adjunct professor in Intellectual Property Law at Florida International University, as well as the Vice Chair of the Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board. In addition to serving as an expert witness in the field of patent law, he has appeared on several national and local television programs discussing intellectual property, guest-lectured for business associations, law school and paralegal courses, and spoken at various professional conferences. Mr. Matos is a published author in the field of Intellectual Property Law and is fluent in Spanish.
