Romance Publisher Trying to Patent the Kiss

Harlequin Enterprises, publisher of such titillating romance titles as Roughneck Cowboy and The Nanny and the CEO, is trying to patent the kiss. Does that mean you might someday have to pay a licensing fee if you want to lock lips? Nope: "Should this patent be approved and registered by the US Patent Office, we will immediately make the method freely available to all persons everywhere in the interests of enhancing romantic love and generally making the world a better place," states the patent application.

An exec further assures Aol News that Harlequin will never charge for kisses, and says the patented kiss is simply meant to reacquaint us with romance: "Kissing is a mundane sign of affection these days, and you don't feel the passion that's needed and the chemistry that's involved in a great kiss. That's why we developed our patent application." The seven-page document, filed last week, offers six diagrams illustrating the “Essential Romantic Kiss,” and explains the three steps that make up the process—click to read what they are.
(More kiss stories.)