ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,383,927, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to Chalkless LLC (Wilmington, Mass.).

"Devices and methods for applying a substance to a sports ball" was invented by David G. Pope (West Newbury, Mass.) and James M. Pidhurney (Auburn, N.H.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention surrounds the application of a substance to a sports ball, such as silica silylate, for the purposes of increasing grip and hydrophobicity. Disclosed are inventions surrounding the method, the system, and the apparatus for the treatment of a sports ball or other objects which a user desires to treat with a substance to achieve certain results in relation to ...