What Invention Did Michael Jackson Receive a Patent For?

Michael Joseph Jackson is a popular music legendary. He is known for his talent as an artist, a dancer, songwriter, singer and music producer. During his lifetime reign as the 'King of Pop,' he was a bestselling American singer, songwriter, and musician.

Born in 1958, Michael bounced into public fame through his chart-topping career with the Jackson 5.

Later on, as a solo artist, he released the best-selling album recorded in history, 'Thriller' in 1982.

The History of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's musical career began to gather momentum even when as a child, during the period when he led his family's famous Motown group – 'Jackson 5' before he went he went on to a solo career, from which he broke into an overwhelming global success.

As a solo artist, he released the number one hits from the albums 'Off the Wall,' 'Thriller' and 'Bad.' In 1971, at the prime age of 13, Jackson launched a solo career with his first solo album, 'Go to Be There' while still with the Jackson 5. But in 1982 Jackson's musical career exploded tremendously across the globe when he released the best-selling album in the history of the world: 'Thriller,' and his popularity, thereafter, knew no boundaries. Michael Jackson’s masterpieces are still loved by fans all around the world.

Michael Jackson was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson on August 29, 1958. His career's success could be traced to Joseph Jackson's inspirational efforts and support during his tender years. Michael was one of the nine children born to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson. He gave up as a guitarist to take up a vocation as a crane operator to augment his income so that he could meet with family financial needs. However, he believed in the music talent he discovered in his sons and moved further to mold them into a musical group in the early part of the 1960s. The group later became known as the Jackson 5.

The Jackson Family Music Group

His elder brother joined the group making them a group of 5 members, from which they were able to adopt the brand name, Jackson 5. The group's constant rehearsal paid off handsomely, and which consequently built a strong following for them. They continued to advance in their career until they moved to Los Angeles where they lived with Diana Ross. 

Their meeting and merger with Diana Ross' Supremes ushered the group into a big-time music career in the music industry. Along with the group's scaling success, Michael Jackson's personal took off towards an ever upward move until in 1983 when he performed the television special in honor of Motown where he debuted his awe-striking and soon-to- be-famous dance move, the Moonwalk.

What Invention did Michael Jackson Receive a Patent For?

Thus, the Anti-Gravity Shoe was invented. Michael Jackson, Michael Bush and Dennis Tumpkins became co-founders of the Anti-Gravity Shoe.

The shoe is a hitching mechanism that needs to be mounted on the floor of the stages where Jackson was to perform. The shoe is designed to allow those who wear it to lean 45 degrees against gravitational pull. The technology of the Anti-Gravity Shoe includes pegs that rise from the stage floor at a regulated timing. And special shoes with ankle supports and cutouts in the heels that slide over the pegs, providing a temporary fix on the stage.

In 1992, Michael Jackson and his co-inventors of the Anti-Gravity Shoe submitted an application, formally requesting patent right for the shoe, to the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. They met the requirements for patenting the Anti-Gravity Shoe and subsequently, their application was approved, and the U.S Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent right to them on October 26, 1993 with the U.S Patent No.5,255,452.