Hook-and-loop fastener Mestral's patent expired, prompting a flood of low-cost imitations from Taiwan, China and South Korea onto the market. Today, the trademark is the subject of more than 300 trademark registrations in over 159 countries. George de Mestral was inducted into the national inventors hall of fame for his invention. The big breakthrough George de Mestral made was to think about hook-and-eye closures on a greatly reduced scale. Hook-and-eye fasteners have been common for centuries, but what was new about hook-and-loop fasteners was the miniaturisation of the hooks and eyes. Shrinking the hooks led to the two other important differences. Firstly,
George Washington (inventor) sideline developed in 1938. This brand was sold by American Home Products in 2000, and, after passing through a couple of intermediaries, has been run by Homestat Farm, Ltd. since 2001. George Washington (inventor) George Constant Louis Washington (May 20, 1871 – March 29, 1946) was a Belgium-born American inventor and businessman. He is best remembered for his invention of an early instant coffee process and for the company he founded to mass-produce it, the "G. Washington Coffee Company". An emigrant from his native Belgium, he arrived in the New York area in 1897 and dabbled in several technical fields