Innovation is a roller coaster ride
In a series of blog posts, Marco Coolen provides insight into his work as a Dutch and European patent attorney at AOMB.
Published on September 7, 2025
Marco, a patent attorney at AOMB since 2013, shares his expertise on IO+ about patents—how they work, why they matter, and when they lose their value.
Take a stroll through Efteling. Or any other amusement park. Look around you while you wait for the next roller coaster. All those steel structures, loops, and safety systems? Built on a stack of expired patents.
We rarely think about it, but virtually every innovation in the roller coaster world was once protected by a patent. And precisely because those patents have now expired, new designs can continue to build on old inventions.
From sled to thrill: how it all began
The first precursors of the roller coaster date back to the 17th century. Icy slides in Russia, where people slid down on sleds. Fun, but still a long way from the roller coasters we know today.
The breakthrough came at the end of the 19th century. In Pennsylvania, a coal train was converted into a tourist attraction. Not long after, in 1885, LaMarcus Thompson built his famous Switchback Railway on Coney Island. He applied for a patent for his design: the world's first real roller coaster patent.
That patent gave birth to a new industry.
Marco Coolen, photo © Bart van Overbeeke
Safety as a catalyst for innovation
Innovation is often not just a matter of faster, higher, and quicker. Safety also plays a key role.
One of the most significant inventions was made by John Miller in 1919. He invented the undercarriage that grips the rails, preventing cars from flying off the track. Thanks to that one patented part, loops, corkscrews, and the fantastic Python at Efteling became possible.
Without that innovation, the modern roller coaster would have looked completely different.
From patent to public domain
Patents are temporary. Over time, a patent loses its exclusivity. The knowledge then becomes freely available. And that is precisely what allows the industry to continue building:
- Miller's wheel became standard.
- Thompson's track design is now basic knowledge.
- Modern safety systems build on generations of old ideas.
Behind every turn, every harness, and every piece of track lies a chain of innovations. Each new generation of designers was able to build on what had been patented before.
Innovation builds on expired patents
This principle does not only apply to roller coasters. You see the same dynamic in almost every field:
- Someone invents something and protects it with a patent.
- Years later, the patent expires.
- New generations of entrepreneurs use that knowledge as a starting point for further innovation.
Expired patents thus form the silent foundation of a thriving economy of continuous innovation.
Patents are temporary, progress is permanent
The next time you ride the Python, think about all the inventors who made your ride possible. Their ideas were once exclusively protected, but have now become a free playing field for the next generation of engineers.
And that is precisely why patents are so valuable. They stimulate innovation by providing temporary protection and then creating space for new inventions. Every screw, every loop, every turn: all built on the shoulders of past geniuses.
Innovation is one big roller coaster ride, and expired patents ensure that the ride becomes longer, more spectacular, and more exciting.
The World of Patents
Dutch and European patent attorney Marco Coolen (AOMB) provides us with a deeper understanding of the world of patents. How do they work, why are they essential, but also: when do they lose their usefulness?
View The World of Patents