5 Of The Strangest Patents Owned By Tech Brands

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Tech companies love to brag about their near-infinite research budgets, promising us a future filled with quantum computers, foldable screens, and all the gadgets we'll supposedly use tomorrow. To lock down these ideas, corporations file thousands of patents every single year. You'd likely expect these legal documents to cover things like fancy-pants algorithms and the advanced microchips that'll power the next generation of smartphones. However, if you actually dig deep into the archives of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you'll find plenty of filings that are straight-up baffling. Earth's biggest and most recognizable tech brands have successfully patented painfully mundane concepts or downright terrifying dystopian ideas. These filings often leave industry observers scratching their heads or deeply unsettled, wondering how these concepts sneaked past…