How Urine Can Defraud the Government: Whizzinator Creators In Hot Water
When those items are the "Whizzinator" and "Number 1," which have been put together to help government employees pass drug tests, that's how.
It has been reported that a truck driver for the Department of Transportation beat mandatory drug testing by using these proxy pee products. In another instance, a Whizzinator customer allegedly used this product to pass a probation officer's drug test.
I was not able to confirm that there was a patent filed for this invention. Assuming that this invention is novel and unobvious (the two most basic requirements for an invention to be patentable), I can't help but wonder: does the use of this invention threaten national security if government employees in certain positions are trying to beat a drug test? If so, it could mean that an application was filed, but the government issued a secrecy order, preventing the publication typical of most patent applications. Specifically, Sec. 115 of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedures states:
If the agency concludes that disclosure of the invention would be detrimental to the national security, a secrecy order is recommended to the Commissioner for Patents. The Commissioner then issues a Secrecy Order and withholds the publication of the application or the grant of a patent for such period as the national interest requires.
I did, however, see that the term "Whizzinator" is a federally registered trademark (Reg. #2782181).
In spite of the registered trademark, prosecutors are seeking to take control of the Internet domain names, www.whizzinator.com and www.gonumber1.com. Check them out while you can!
