ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,276,136, issued on April 15, was assigned to Fasteners for Retail Inc. (Twinsburg, Ohio).
"Anti-theft merchandise hook" was invented by Keith C. Eden (Rockford, Ill.), Shane Obitts (North Ridgeville, Ohio), Brent O. Ewing (Roscoe, Ill.) and Chan Chor Man (Tai Po N.T., Hong Kong).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An anti-theft merchandise hook that includes a top wire connected to a housing and to a mounting portion, used to mount the anti-theft merchandise hook to a stationary surface, at an end of the top wire. A bottom wire is attached to the mounting portion and extends from the mounting portion towards the housing. The bottom wire is conf...