The Road to Revolution.
August 2013: The Passing of Snoop
On August 25, 2013, Jeffrey Schab and Wade Giles' beloved horse, Snoop, passes away from an epiploic foramen entrapment, a rare form of colic. Driven to not let Snoop's passing be without reason, Jeffrey embarks on what becomes a 5-year journey to invent an early warning system for equine colic and other forms of distress.
November 2013: Protequus® Established
After 2.5 months of primary and secondary research, Jeffrey establishes Protequus LLC as a legal entity to make his vision for an equine distress & wellness monitor a reality. Protequus (pronounced as pro-tech-kwis) is formed from the word "protection" and the Latin word for horse, "equus."
February 2014: Patent Filed
Protequus files the first in a series of provisional and utility patents with the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on February 24, 2014 for a SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILE ANIMAL SURVEILLANCE AND DISTRESS MONITORING.
May 2014: RIT Research Agreement
Protequus enters into a research agreement with Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) for classification and modeling of distress in horses using sensor data.
June 2014: Alpha Prototype
Protequus engineers place a first-generation mobile adaptive sensor system (alpha-prototype) on horses in NY and LA to acquire real-time behavior data using a 9-axis IMU and successfully demonstrate proof-of-principal for novel event detection.
April 2017: 1st Patent Issued
The USPTO approves and issues a utility patent (No. 9,629,340) for MOBILE ANIMAL SURVEILLANCE AND DISTRESS MONITORING, which is just a short ~3 years from first filing. This patent confirms the novel, useful, and non-obvious nature of NIGHTWATCH®.
September 2017: Regulatory Approval
NIGHTWATCH® is determined to be safe and complies with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC rules, and further complies with IC license-exempt RSS standards, PTCRB/CTIA certifcation standards, and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60950 product safety standards.
February 2018: 2nd Patent Issued
The USPTO approves and issues a second utility patent (No. 9,894,885) as a continuation of patent (No. 9,629,340) for detecting one or more biometric parameters in animals using UWB-IR.
April 2018: Beta Launch (US & Canada)
NIGHTWATCH® becomes available to a select number of customers to begin rigorous real-world beta testing.
December 2018: 3rd Patent Issued
The USPTO approves and issues a third utility patent (No. 10,154,655) as a continuation in part of patent (No. 9,629,340) to predict the onset of parturition in animals using UWB-IR.
March 2019: Launch (US & Canada)
NIGHTWATCH® becomes fully available for purchase to customers with horses domiciled in the US and Canada.
October 2019: 4th Patent Issued
The Australian Government approves and issues a utility patent (No. 2015218807) for IP protection of NIGHTWATCH®
July 2020: 5th Patent Issued
The Canadian Government approves and issues a utility patent (No. 2940523) for IP protection of NIGHTWATCH®.
June 2021: New SaaS Model
NIGHTWATCH® becomes available to consumers in the United States and Canada as a subscription service.
May 2022: Ehud Olmert Partners with Protequus®
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert partners with Protequus® on the global expansion of NIGHTWATCH®.
December 2022: Protequus® Makes Way for Next-Generation (Gen 2.0) Technology
Protequus® sells out of first-generation NIGHTWATCH® smart halters™ after launching in 2019
to horse owners in the US and Canada. Protequus® will now focus attention to their next-generation (Gen 2.0) portfolio
of smart technology offerings to protect the welfare of horses worldwide.
July 2023: 6th Patent Issued
The European Patent Register approves and issues a utility patent (No. 3110310) for IP protection of NIGHTWATCH® in 17 countries.
August 2023: Protequus Joins AgriFutures Australia AgXelerate Program
This government-led program is designed to identify emerging AgTech innovation and support the growth and development of their rural levied industries, including the Thoroughbred Horse industry.