So all of the results for the charge pump contest have been in for a while, and we’ve been working hard on analyzing them.

In the end we received over 50 submissions, a mix of US and foreign patents and non-patent literature, from experts all over the world. It took some time to read through them, but we came out the other side with a strong case for invalidating ‘640.

We scored the submissions based on the number of claims we felt they invalidated, and the order in which the submissions were received. We’ve chosen the winner and paid out the prize, so if you haven’t heard from us, I’m afraid you didn’t win.

Fortunately, if you didn’t win, we just put up our next contest. This one is pretty fun: we’re looking for prior art for a jetpack. Yes, that’s right, a jetpack.

The patent in question describes a water-based jetpack that operates similar to this product. We’re offering $1000 for the best acceptable submission and are looking forward to seeing what you mavericks unearth.