ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 23 -- United States Patent no. 12,365,399, issued on July 22, was assigned to Magna Exteriors Inc. (Aurora, Canada).

"Articulating tailgate" was invented by Robert M. Horner (Ferndale, Mich.), Larry R. Erickson (Birmingham, Mich.), Robert A. Selle (Rochester, Mich.), Peter G. DeMarois (Troy, Mich.), Michael S. Spagnuolo (Shelby Township, Mich.), Andrew E. Sicherman (Royal Oak, Mich.) and Brian Staley (Bloomfield, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tailgate assembly including at least two tailate panels that both move between a closed position, a plurality of intermediate open positions, and a fully open position, where the tailgate panels selectively separate and art...