There are plenty of perpetual motion machines patented in the US. Just because the patent exists doesn't mean it works. All that would have been necessary is enough doubt to make the government official sifting through the patents to say "eh, probably fake," and move on -- just like you mentioned in the story, in fact, so you already provided sufficient justification.
Are you spelling that right? I'm familiar with most of the rest of your list, but not that one, and I can't find it in a search. What is it?
To be fair, there's nothing wrong with failing -- the important part is that they TRIED.