“There was a bunch of them, but none of them were really that big or big enough to pursue, other than in a trivial way.”įive years later, in 1973, a change in management within 3M allowed Silver to prototype a reusable bulletin board. “I’d spun my wheels a long time trying to find a product I could put my adhesive on,” Silver said in an interview with NIHF. While Silver’s reusable adhesive was undoubtedly unique, many within 3M doubted it could be used to create a viable product. Instead, these indestructible acrylic spheres were “strong enough to hold papers together but weak enough to allow the papers to be pulled apart again without being torn.” Additionally, the adhesive’s properties allowed it to be reused without leaving behind any type of residue. However, the sticky “microspheres” he invented were neither very strong nor permanent. At first, however, his findings did not appear promising.Īs a senior scientist working for 3M, Silver was tasked with developing new, stronger adhesives.

In 1968, National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) Inductee Spencer Silver made a discovery that led to one of the most successful office supply products in history. Co-invented by National Inventors Hall of Fame ® (NIHF) Inductees Art Fry and Spencer Silver, the Post-it Note would go on to become commonly used in offices around the world.īelow is an excerpt from our white paper, “The Power of Intellectual Property Triangulation,” that begins with the story of how these two Inductees worked together to invent the Post-it Note. The earning combination of a design patent, a utility patent and a trademark - ensure maximum protection.Īspects of this strategy were used by 3M when marketing the Post-it ® Note. While it is common practice for companies to apply for intellectual property protections when marketing a product, those able to use an Intellectual Property Triangulation ® strategy.