Originally Posted by
Onebyone
It was originally made in Australia Some years later the patent was sold to a man and wife team in the US. He retired and so they weren't made any more. The story of how So Be It came to obtain the patent is on one of their youtube videos. I have the long and short one. I use them every time I cut with my rotary cutter at home. I bought them decades ago from at Nancy Notions when they were an Australian product.I had my first rotary accident and was looking for a safety device. Both of mine are clear not the yellow color. I put mine on top of the ruler as that is how the designer made them. The US couple decided it would market better by not having it on top of the ruler. Works either way. When I first bought mine no one had ever heard of them in my area, not even the quilt shops.
This is not accurate. The Slidelock was not created in Australia and was never sold or patented in Australia. The item you describe (which sits on top of a ruler) is a completely different product with a completely different method of use. The Slidelock was first introduced in commerce in the US in 2015. Had it been created, sold, or used in Australia first, it would not have been eligible for patent protection in the US. The original inventors of the Slidelock are an American couple from whom I purchased the patent. We have since re-engineered the design to improve its functionality and reliability.
Source: I'm an attorney who deals with Intellectual Property issues and I own the Slidelock patent.