Patents & Intellectual Property
Technology protected across print, data, finance, and life support.
Forrest Gauthier is the inventor and owner of a substantial patent portfolio spanning database mining, digital printing, automated composition, optics, eBooks, inkjet printing, IC design, life-support technology, and rebreather systems.
His work includes more than 50 patents, over 600 claims, and more than 800 citations, with innovations commercialized in products and systems used by major international companies.
Portfolio Snapshot
50+ patents
600+ claims
800+ citations
Digital communications
Life-support technology
Underwater systems
Portfolio Areas
A body of work that moves from digital systems to underwater survival.
The portfolio is best understood in two major arcs: digital printing and variable data systems, followed by life-support, rebreather, and underwater navigation technologies.
Blue71 Related Patents
Life-support, rebreather, and underwater navigation technology.
Forrest’s later patent work centers on making underwater systems safer, more automated, and more accessible. This includes rebreather safety, oxygen calibration, augmented reality navigation, and new respiratory materials.
US 8,171,931
Rebreather safety system
US 8,196,581
Rebreather safety valve
US 8,733,344
Rebreather safety automation
US 11,679,286
Oxygen calibration apparatus
US 12,240,575
AR sports mask with underwater navigation
US 12,275,506
Fully automated rebreather system
Publication 20240293076
Eustachian and tympanic analysis system
Publication 20250018336
Biodegradable porous monolithic CO2 scrubber
Applied Development
Not just filings. Working technology.
Forrest designed the complete controller package for the Reactor closed circuit rebreather, a PADI R recreational rebreather, completing the work in 2020. Through Tesseron, he also developed replacement controllers for the Optima and Evolution rebreathers in 2017.
- Rebreather automation: Systems designed to reduce complexity and improve safety.
- Oxygen calibration: Tools and methods for more reliable life-support monitoring.
- Underwater navigation: AR and virtual reality concepts for three-dimensional orientation.
- Respiration materials: New approaches to CO2 scrubbing and respiratory device performance.
Digital Communications
Variable data, automated composition, and high-speed print systems.
The patent work at Varis Corporation produced more than 20 issued patents in database mining, inkjet printing, and automated document composition, including technologies embedded in products from GE, Canon, Xerox, Adobe, Hewlett Packard, and others.
- US 5,594,860 Method for banding and rasterizing an image.
- US 5,729,665 Method of utilizing variable data fields with a page description language.
- US 5,740,338 Method for merging variable image data into a template image.
- US 5,760,914 Image registration method.
- US 5,793,946 Run-time diagnostic system.
- US 5,796,930 System architecture for processing and rendering pages.
- US 5,833,375 Interfacing a raster printer controller with a plurality of print engines.
- US 5,937,153 Variable data printing and bitmap generation.
- US 6,027,195 Synchronizing piezoelectric clock sources of ink jet print heads.
- US 6,145,946 Generating a stroke frequency signal on ink jet print heads.
- US 6,209,010 Wrapping data to an arbitrary path defined by a page description language.
- US 6,243,172 Merging variable text and images into page description language bitmaps.
- US 6,381,028 Method of utilizing variable data fields with a page description language.
- US 6,771,387 Variable bitmap generation.
- US 7,274,479 Variable data print processing.
- US 7,532,355 Merging variable text and images into page description language bitmaps.
Financial Technology
Encoding standards for high-accuracy financial documents.
During his time at Anser Technology, Forrest authored the draft ISO specification for non-impact E-13B magnetic encoding and developed related digital encoding technologies now widely deployed in security documents, travelers checks, debit cards, lottery systems, and postal tags.
Core Contribution
From recognition problem to global standard.
At Anser, the challenge was not simply reading financial characters. It was reaching the level of precision required by international banking standards and deploying that reliability into real production environments.
Commercial Adoption
Technology deployed by international companies.
Innovations derived from Forrest’s work have been commercialized in hundreds of products and deployed by major companies across printing, imaging, technology, banking, and industrial markets.
TechnologyGeneral Electric
SoftwareMicrosoft
ImagingCanon
ComputingIBM
Security DocumentsBritish American Bank Note
PrintingXerox
Print ServicesRR Donnelly
ImagingKonica Minolta
ImagingKodak
MaterialsToray
Digital PrintElectronics for Imaging
PrintingScitex
ComputingHewlett Packard
PublishingAdobe Systems
CommunicationsStrålfors AB
Financial NetworkBell Canada / AT&T
The Throughline
A practical approach to invention.
The patent portfolio follows the same pattern as Forrest’s companies: identify a system-level limitation, design the missing mechanism, protect the invention, and move it into commercial or operational use.
- Data and composition: Turning large databases into personalized communications at scale.
- Print and imaging: Improving how variable content is rendered, registered, and produced.
- Financial encoding: Raising the accuracy and reliability of security-sensitive document processing.
- Life support: Making underwater breathing systems safer, more automated, and easier to operate.
Current Chapter
Blue71 Global brings the patent story back to the water.
Forrest’s current work applies decades of invention, product development, and systems thinking to underwater access. Blue71 Global is built around patented technology designed to make water-based adventure safer, easier, and more accessible.