Newman Darby
Encyclopedia
Newman Darby is an American inventor best known as the inventor of the sailboard.
and began building boats when he was 12. His first boat sank, but he fished it out of the Susquehanna River
, near his home, and made it into a home for snakes.
Today, Darby and his wife make their home in Saint Johns, Florida
.
in 1948, when he was 20. In the mid-1960s, Darby conceived the Darby Sailboard": a hand-held square rigged "kite" sail on a floating platform for recreational use.
Darby had taught himself to sail a 10-foot model on lakes in high wind between 1964 and 1965. He published his design in August 1965 Popular Science
magazine, and although it did not show any connection between the rig and the board (i.e., a universal joint
; the mast simply rested in a depression on the board) it did refer to a "more complex swivel step for advanced riders not shown."
Darby and his wife, Naomi, organized Darby Industries, Inc. in 1964, with his brother, Kenneth, was also active in the company. However, the sailboard design never gained popularity, and Darby's company ceased operations by the end of the 1960s.
ns Jim Drake
(a sailor) and Hoyle Schweitzer (a surfer) took out the first patent on Drake's Windsurfer design in 1968. The universal sail system with pivotal mast was already in public use from Darby's invention at that time.
Developed commercially through company Windsurfing International Inc., after Hoyle bought Drake out of his half of the patent for $36,000, he quickly expanded the company thorough licensing the patent internationally. However, Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies - Tabur (later Bic Sport), F2, Mistral - wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International.
Tabur lawyers found prior art, in Englishman
Peter Chilvers
, who as a young boy on Hayling Island
on the south coast of England, assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958.
In Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (GB) Ltd. 1985 RPC 59, with Tabur backed financially by French sailing fanatic Baron Marcel Bich, British courts recognized the prior art of Peter Chilvers. It did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a "straight boom" that became curved in use. The courts found that the Schweitzer windsurfer boom was "merely an obvious extension". It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of inventive step and non-obviousness
; the court upheld the defendant's claim that the Schweitzer patent was invalid, based on film footage of Chilvers. Schweitzer then sued the company in Canada
, where the opposition team again financially backed by Bic included Chilvers and Jim Drake, and lost again. After the cases, no longer obliged to pay Windsurfing International and royalty payments, the now renamed Bic Sport became the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment, with an annual production of 15,000 boards.
In 1983, Schweitzer sued Swiss board manufacturer Mistral, which is today still a major sailboard manufacturer, and lost. Although started before the British case, it ended after the closure of the Canadian case, with Mistral's defence hinging on the work of Darby.
In the 1980s, Darby received a design patent
for a one-person sailboat
, the Darby 8 SS sidestep hull. His latest project is called the Windspear, a combination kayak, canoe, and surfboard, with a paddle and fin combination. Darby's latest design (2006/2007) is being tested, timed and fine tuned.
Biography
He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
and began building boats when he was 12. His first boat sank, but he fished it out of the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
, near his home, and made it into a home for snakes.
Today, Darby and his wife make their home in Saint Johns, Florida
Saint Johns, Florida
Were you looking for:* St. Johns County, Florida* Port St. John, Florida* St. Johns River in Florida* St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville...
.
Sailboard
Darby first conceived of a hand-operated square sail attached to a catamaranCatamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
in 1948, when he was 20. In the mid-1960s, Darby conceived the Darby Sailboard": a hand-held square rigged "kite" sail on a floating platform for recreational use.
Darby had taught himself to sail a 10-foot model on lakes in high wind between 1964 and 1965. He published his design in August 1965 Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
magazine, and although it did not show any connection between the rig and the board (i.e., a universal joint
Universal joint
A universal joint, universal coupling, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint or coupling in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion...
; the mast simply rested in a depression on the board) it did refer to a "more complex swivel step for advanced riders not shown."
Darby and his wife, Naomi, organized Darby Industries, Inc. in 1964, with his brother, Kenneth, was also active in the company. However, the sailboard design never gained popularity, and Darby's company ceased operations by the end of the 1960s.
Windsurfer patent cases
Darby did not patent his design or any of his subsequent models attached to surfboards, and the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
ns Jim Drake
Jim Drake (engineer)
Jim Drake , is an American aeronautics engineer, who is credited as the inventor of windsurfing. Although after later patent disputes and court cases, there were discovered earlier design by Englishman Peter Chilvers and American Newman Darby, and even Drake is accepts he is at best third in...
(a sailor) and Hoyle Schweitzer (a surfer) took out the first patent on Drake's Windsurfer design in 1968. The universal sail system with pivotal mast was already in public use from Darby's invention at that time.
Developed commercially through company Windsurfing International Inc., after Hoyle bought Drake out of his half of the patent for $36,000, he quickly expanded the company thorough licensing the patent internationally. However, Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies - Tabur (later Bic Sport), F2, Mistral - wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International.
Tabur lawyers found prior art, in Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers is an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard.-Life:Chilvers has been an engineer for Lotus and has founded a sailing and windsurfing centre in London...
, who as a young boy on Hayling Island
Hayling Island
-Leisure activities:Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre, the site where windsurfing was invented....
on the south coast of England, assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958.
In Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (GB) Ltd. 1985 RPC 59, with Tabur backed financially by French sailing fanatic Baron Marcel Bich, British courts recognized the prior art of Peter Chilvers. It did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a "straight boom" that became curved in use. The courts found that the Schweitzer windsurfer boom was "merely an obvious extension". It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of inventive step and non-obviousness
Inventive step and non-obviousness
The inventive step and non-obviousness reflect a same general patentability requirement present in most patent laws, according to which an invention should be sufficiently inventive — i.e., non-obvious — in order to be patented....
; the court upheld the defendant's claim that the Schweitzer patent was invalid, based on film footage of Chilvers. Schweitzer then sued the company in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where the opposition team again financially backed by Bic included Chilvers and Jim Drake, and lost again. After the cases, no longer obliged to pay Windsurfing International and royalty payments, the now renamed Bic Sport became the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment, with an annual production of 15,000 boards.
In 1983, Schweitzer sued Swiss board manufacturer Mistral, which is today still a major sailboard manufacturer, and lost. Although started before the British case, it ended after the closure of the Canadian case, with Mistral's defence hinging on the work of Darby.
In the 1980s, Darby received a design patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for a one-person sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
, the Darby 8 SS sidestep hull. His latest project is called the Windspear, a combination kayak, canoe, and surfboard, with a paddle and fin combination. Darby's latest design (2006/2007) is being tested, timed and fine tuned.