GORE-TEX is a waterproof/breathable fabric an a registered trademark of W.L. Gore & Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore (1912-1986), Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted U.S. Patent 3,953,566 on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a micro-structure characterized by nodes interconnected by fibrils. Robert Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Samuel Allen were granted U.S. Patent 4,194,041 on 18 March 1980 for a "waterproof laminate." For its invention, Robert W. Gore was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.