The Strangest Patents Registered by Global Technology Companies
US technology magazine PC Gamer has revealed a collection of bizarre patents filed by major global technology companies over the past decade, pushing beyond conventional innovation into ideas the magazine described as both “baffling” and “disturbing.”
The magazine noted that despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, these companies sometimes seek intellectual property rights for extremely simple concepts or ideas that raise ethical concerns.
According to the report, Apple filed a patent application in 2016 for a paper bag. The patent document describes a container made of sulfuric acid-bleached white paper containing at least 60 percent recycled content from post-consumer sources. The company developed special reinforcement inserts to strengthen the bag, a move reflecting its commitment to the luxury shopping experience it offers its customers.
In a related development, the magazine revealed that Amazon obtained a patent covering the process of capturing product images against a seamless white background—a common commercial photography technique used for decades before the advent of the internet. The company convinced the US Patent and Trademark Office that this studio arrangement constituted a unique innovation deserving legal protection.
The report included several other notable examples of patents filed by major technology companies:
• In early 2017, IBM was granted a patent for an automated email reply system for when employees are away from their desks, although the original application had been filed in 2010.
• In late 2020, Microsoft received a patent for a chatbot robot modeled after a deceased person, based on personal data such as social media posts, messages, and images.
IBM’s patent faced sharp criticism from digital rights organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which described granting intellectual property rights to a common concept like an out-of-office auto-reply as “meaningless.” The magazine emphasized that the patent system is fundamentally based on two criteria: novelty and non-obviousness—conditions that critics argue this idea fails to meet. Nevertheless, IBM later announced it had no intention of enforcing its legal rights against users.
The magazine also clarified that Sony’s patent, which remains valid until 2030, describes a system using a camera and microphone to verify that viewers pronounce the name of an advertised brand before allowing the program to resume. It noted that Sony has never implemented this system in any of its television devices to date.
The report stressed that executives at the company later described the idea as “disturbing,” confirming there were no actual plans to develop it commercially.
The report concluded that these patents, regardless of their absurdity or controversy, reflect a tendency among major technology companies to assert legal control over the minutest details, ranging from a simple shopping bag to concepts that touch on sensitive ethical boundaries concerning privacy and digital consent.
