C4IP is recognizing George de Mestral (1907-1990), whose invention of Velcro fasteners has become an integral part of products from clothing to spaceships.
- De Mestral was a Swiss engineer who conceived the idea for the “hook-and-loop” fastener after noticing burrs clinging to his clothes and his dog’s fur, then studying the burrs’ hooks under a microscope.
- After nearly a decade of experimentation, de Mestral succeeded in using nylon to reproduce the burrs’ hook-and-loop mechanism, an innovation he patented in 1955.
- De Mestral founded a company called Velcro (for “velour crochet” in French, or velvet hooks in English) to manufacture his invention.
- Today, the company is estimated to be worth over $300 million and serves a global market worth over $3.6 billion.
- De Mestral’s invention took time to catch on: Its first major adopter was NASA, which used the product to secure equipment, tools, and astronaut gear in zero gravity.
- Velcro-style fasteners were later adapted for use in home goods, health care, construction, and many forms of clothing.
- De Mestral’s story offers a textbook example of how the promise of patent protection drives inventors to persevere and incentivizes them to keep developing their ideas even when they are not at first commercially successful.