Patexia would like to congratulate Simon Sunatori on a great career as a Patexia Researcher so far. Simon is a patent engineer and researcher who joined Patexia in June 2013. Since joining Simon has participated in 92 contests with many wins across industries. Simon is one of our top experts in competition for the #1 spot on the leaderboard.

We interviewed Simon about his Patexia experience, and here is what he had to say:

How did you first hear about Patexia?

In June 2013 I was contacted by Patexia, and I decided to join. It has become a community with which I feel comfortable because I share the vision of Patexia's business model.

What is your background/area of expertise?

After graduating from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, with an M.Eng. (Engineering Physics) degree, I worked at Bell-Northern Research in Ottawa, ON, Canada, where I designed integrated circuit (IC) for the CMOS Standard Cell Library. My name was on a couple of patents, but I didn’t have a law background and I could not understand legalese at all. After 11 years of service, I left the company and became an independent inventor. By necessity, I learned how to patent myself. I drafted, filed and prosecuted 68 solo patent applications (3 abandoned, 65 granted), mostly Canadian but a few U.S., in many fields. I am proud of having commercialized my inventions, i.e., "MagneScribe™: A 3-in-1 Auto-Retractable Ballpoint Pen with an Ergonomic Cushion that Leonardo da Vinci would have loved to wear! and "Magic Spicer™: Self-Sealing Auto-Aligning Magnetically-Hanging Spice Dispenser with a Continuously-Variable Hole-Size Selector". However, they were difficult to commercialize. So, I started to work as a systems analyst at TechInsights in Ottawa, ON, Canada, analyzing patents for evidence of use and preparing claim charts. Only 2-1/2 years later, I became a casualty of corporate downsizing. Luckily, I found Patexia, and I have devoted my energy to it.

What has been the best part about your experience on Patexia?

Patexia's contests have given me intellectual stimulation, as well as means to make a living. Since I am not a genius, I have had to use hard work with blood, sweat and tears. Beyond the standard contests, Quorum Contests such as "Solving the Water Shortage" give me a chance to exercise innovative creativity, imagination, ingenuity and originality.

What is the most interesting search result you have found?

Patexia contests provide challenges and opportunities to learn many subject matters. I was fascinated by search results in the technology fields with which I had not been familiar, e.g., "Lipolytic Drug Injection", "Expandable Tubular Technology", "Bone Screw Safety Mechanism" and "Interior Side Airbag".

We would like to thank Simon for his contributions to the community, and we look forward to working with him in the future.

Keep an eye out for our Featured Expert next month!