New Case Study SlideWheel: How a Swiss Engineer Made His Son’s Dream of a Next-Generation Water Slide Come True – With the Help of a Strong Partner and IP

European IP Helpdesk team has recently published a new case study “SlideWheel” that illustrates how an imaginary idea can turn into reality with an early-stage intellectual property (IP) protection and the collaboration with an experienced partner.

8-year-old son of Jean-Francois Fischer, a Swiss Engineer, saw his father’s technical drawing of some entangled/interlinked pipes on the computer and exclaimed: “How much fun would it be to slide through these pipes while they are rotating like a big Ferris wheel?! With all these ups and downs and curves, it must be so great!” Mr Fischer first puzzled by his son’s wild phantasies, but after drawing some sketches, he got convinced that his son’s idea might have a chance to be realized as a water slide.

After elaborating the concept a bit further, the inventor Mr Fischer first filed a patent application in order to protect his invention and then teamed up with an experienced water slide manufacturer company “Wiegand Waterrides GmbH” to turn this idea into reality. The solid patent protection allowed him to share his vision with established water slide manufacturers without risking losing his idea to a big player.

The case study is downloadable in the Publications Office of the European Union.
You can also find the other case studies on the European IP Helpdesk website.