Links to MIT source: https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504 https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504 I guess that means t

Links to MIT source: https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504 https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504 I guess that means the patent has expired. Which is a common fate for these things: patenting a technology means that nobody else is going to develop it if the patentor doesn't. Zippers are in general a miracle of engineering tolerances, like LEGO. There's articles around about why YKK are considered to be the only decent manufacturer of them.