Creative Gets a “Radical” Patent

After three years of paperwork and examiner reviews, Creative Nail Design Systems has acquired a patent for its Radical Solarnail acrylic system. The broad patent will protect the technology behind Creative’s product, not just the formulation. “We approached the patent with the fact that we discovered a new chemical composition for making a nail product,” explains Doug Schoon, director of research and development at Creative, and the chemist who came up with the formulation. “We found that when a certain ‘family’ of chemicals was combined with the more typical ingredients, we could make a stronger system with less crystallization.”

The biggest challenge in the patent process, says Schoon, was educating patent attorneys and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiners. “They kept calling it nail polish, and we would have to patiently explain what it really was,” he says. “At one point, we wanted to put nails on one guy to illustrate our point!”