MICHAEL JACKSON'S PATENT

Michael Jackson is known for many famous dance moves over his 50-year career span. One of his most famous moves was the anti-gravity lean featured in the music video for his 1987 hit “Smooth Criminal.” He would later go on to perform the move during the song in his short film “Moonwalker,” and on his live tours. However, a distinction exists between the technique employed in the music video and that utilized in his live shows. In the video, the illusion of defying gravity was achieved through the use of support strings and wires. Yet, for live performances where such aids would be conspicuous, Jackson collaborated with fashion designers Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins to devise a specialized footwear solution along with a supporting apparatus. Their ingenuity led to the creation of shoes equipped with unique ankle supports and heel grooves, complemented by stage floors embedded with pins. As Jackson's shoe slid over these pins, he could execute the lean, captivating audiences with the illusion of defying earthly constraints. Despite applying for a patent on June 29, 1992, Jackson's bid was rejected because a similar gravity-defying technology predated his stage implementation. Nevertheless, the anti-gravity lean remains indelibly associated with Jackson's legacy. On August 25, 1992, he was granted a patent for the shoe design. The patent, as summarized by his co-inventors, describes "a system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity by wearing a specially designed pair of shoes which will engage with a hitch member movably projectable through a stage surface. The shoes have a specially designed heel slot which can be detachably engaged with the hitch member by simply sliding the shoe wearer’s foot forward, thereby engaging with the hitch member." Patent number: US5255452 A #michaeljackson #moonwalk #celebrity #famous #popking #history #magic