Patents on the soles of your shoes...: December 2019

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Oh, patents! BVLGARI® Serpenti (7)

The US design patent, USD835541S1, titled Article of jewelry, was awarded on December 11, 2018, to Lucia Silvestri, BVLGARI®'s Creative Director for jewelry. The patented design covers the BVLGARI® Serpenti earrings designed by Silvestri.

Included below, three patent figure drawings, respectively depicting a front view (Fig. 1), a right view (Fig. 5) and a bottom view (Fig. 7) of the Silvestri-designed BVLGARI® Serpenti earing. Three marketed embodiments of the design are also included. From top to bottom, the Silvestri-designed BVLGARI® Serpenti earrings, created: in rose gold, encrusted with full pavé diamonds and two rubellite eyes; in white gold, encrusted with full pavé diamonds and two emerald eyes; and in rose gold, encrusted with half-pavé diamonds and two malachite eyes.

As a reminder: “a utility patent” protects the way an article is used and works (35 U.S.C. 101), while a “design patent” protects the way an article looks (35 U.S.C. 171) [MPEP Chapt. 1502.01; [R-07.2015]].

References

BVLGARI® (website)

https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Oh, patents! BVLGARI® Serpenti (6)

Awarded the US Design patent USD835538S1, titled Article of jewelry, Lucia Silvestri is BVLGARI®’S Gem Hunter-in-Chief and Creative Director for jewelry. Silvestri is also one of the BVLGARI® jewelry designers. Among more than 1000 creations, Silvestri re-designed the BVLGARI® Serpenti collection.

The patent figure drawing included below, together with three marketed embodiments of the patented design, are all BVLGARI® Serpenti pieces, designed by Silvestri.

References

Abrams, C. (Aug. 16, 2018) A day in the life of Bulgari’s Creative Director Lucia Silvestri – Wall Street Journal.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-day-in-the-life-of-bulgaris-creative-director-lucia-silvestri-1534437861

Beckett, K. (Dec. 6, 2019) A Ruby Anniversary With Emeralds, Steel and Diamonds, Too. NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/fashion/jewelry-bulgari-lucia-silvestri-anniversary.html

BVLGARI® (website)

https://www.bulgari.com/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Monday, December 23, 2019

Oh, patents! BVLGARI® Serpenti (5)

The BVLGARI® Serpenti collection includes necklaces. The US design patent USD779999S1, titled Article of jewelry, discloses the ornamental design of a BVLGARI® Serpenti necklace. The patent was awarded to Paolo Bulgari, great-grandson of the BVLGARI® [1] founder, Sotirio Bulgari [2]. The patent was filed on March 26, 2015, and granted on February 28, 2017.

Included below, the patent Figure 1, together with an embodiment of the patented BVLGARI® Serpenti necklace, with full pavé diamonds.

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Notes
[1] The eponymous trademarked name BVLGARI® is spelled with the classical Latin alphabet.

[2] The founder Sotirio Bulgari was Greek. His family name “Bulgari” means “Bulgarian”.

References

BVLGARI® (website)

https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Oh, patents! BVLGARI® Serpenti (4)

Copyright ® Françoise Herrmann

Beyond watches, the BVLGARI® Serpenti collection includes different sorts of jewelry pieces. The US design patent USD606894S1, titled Bracelet, was awarded to Paolo Bulgari, great-grandson of the BVLGARI®[1] jewelry founder, Sotirio Bulgari [2]. The patent was awarded on December 29, 2009.

Included below, the patent Figure 1, together with an image of a marketed embodiment of the patented BVLGARI® Serpenti bracelet. The single-coil bracelet is designed in yellow gold, inlaid with diamonds.

Notes

[1] The eponymous trademarked name BVLGARI® is spelled with the classical Latin alphabet.

[2] The founder, Sotirio Bulgari, was Greek. His family name “Bulgari” means “Bulgarian”.

References

BVLGARI® (website)

https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Oh, Liz! BVLGARI® Serpenti (3)

The watch pictured above is Elizabeth Taylor’s BVLGARI® Serpenti watch, which she is wearing in the picture next to it, in plainclothes, on the set of the Cleopatra movie, in Italy.

The Cleopatra movie was directed, in 1963, by Joseph Leo Mankiewicz, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison, respectively in the roles of Cleopatra, Marc Anthony, and Julius Caesar. Cleopatra was the most expensive movie, then ever produced, and the movie that grossed the most earnings of that decade, in the USA, and Canada. It also received 9 nominations, at the 36^th Academy Awards ceremony.

According to Fasel (2013), speculation exists on how Taylor acquired the above BVLGARI® Serpenti watch; whether it was included as part of the contract for playing the role of Cleopatra, or whether it was gifted by Richard Burton. The sumptuous 65 Cleopatra costume changes of the movie, which earned the Best Costume Academy Award, included serpent accessories, in particular an upper arm cuff. Serpent accessories, which, according to Fasel (2013), might have contributed to the popularity of the BVLGARI® Serpenti collections.

References

Fasel, M. (2013) BvlgariSerpenti Collection. Paris, France: Assouline.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Oh,patents! BVLGARI® Serpenti (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The US design patent USD628092S1, titled Watch was awarded, in 2010, to Paolo Bulgari, great-grandson of Satorio Bulgari[1], founder, in 1884, of the eponymous BVLGARI®[2] brand.

The watch design disclosed in this design patent includes the popular “tubogas” strap. Tubogas, meaning “tube of gas”, comprises interlocking links that require no soldering. The links are slightly elastic, offering a perfect fit. Thus, the watch disclosed in this design patent is part of the Bulgari Sepenti Tubogas collection.

The figure drawing of the patented watch design, extracted from the patent cover page, is included below, together with one of the marketed embodiments of the design. A Serpenti Tubogas watch with stainless steel and 18k rose gold, double coil, bracelet, stainless steel case with diamond-set bezel, and guilloché-treated, silver opaline, watch dial.

Notes

[1] The founder Sotirio Bulgari was Greek. His family name “Bulgari” means “Bulgarian”.

[2] The eponymous trademarked name BVLGARI® is spelled with the classical Latin alphabet.

References

BVLGARI®

https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Oh, patents! BVLGARI® Sepenti (1)

The US design patent USD606886S1, titled Wrist watch, was awarded, in 2009, to Paolo Bulgari, the great-grandson of Sotirio Bulgari[1] [1857-1932], founder of the famous Italian brand BVLGARI®[2].

The Serpenti wristwatch design, disclosed in this patent, is one of many iterations of a collection that began in the 1940s. A collection that has shed its skin, almost every decade, one more popular Serpenti design, after another.

Below, Figure 1 extracted from USD606886S1, together with a marketed embodiment of the patented design, in gold with inlaid diamonds, and mother of pearl.

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Notes

[1] The founder Sotirio Bulgari was Greek. His family name “Bulgari” means “Bulgarian”.

[2] The eponymous brand name BVLGARI® is spelled with the classical Latin alphabet.

References

BVLGARI®

https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/

MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Sunday, December 1, 2019

World AIDS Day 2019

Just 40 years ago, AIDS patients were turned away at major hospitals, or they might be quarantined in broom closets, until they died. Nurses and doctors went to court, refusing to take care of AIDS patients, much less touch them, love them or make them feel good, at a time when it was still unclear, exactly how AIDS was transmitted.

In 1983, a group of nurses and doctors changed the face of AIDS care and treatment at San Francisco General Hospital, opening what became known as Ward 5B. The documentary, titled 5B is the story of this ward, and the unconventional, groundbreaking means that were implemented to care for the patents, who walked in, mostly to die.

Narrated in 2018 by the extraordinary nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers who founded the ward, in 1983, the documentary uses archival footage from the 1980s to chronicle victories and setbacks, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, prior to the discovery of ARTs (Antiretroviral therapies). A period of time when 3,000 people were diagnosed with AIDS, half of them dying, in San Francisco alone.

A must-see for anyone interested in the decriminalization of disease, and the humanization of care. Protocols for AIDS patient care and treatment, effective today, were developed in Ward 5B, forever changing the care, worldwide.

Presented at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, co-produced by Paul Haggis, Dan Krauss, Hayley Pappas, Rupert Maconick, Brett Henenberg, Guru Gowrappan, Brendan Gaul, and co-directed by Paul Haggis and Dan Krauss, the official trailer of the documentary 5B is included below.

References

UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund - World AIDS Day 2019

https://www.unfpa.org/about-us
WHO - World AIDS Day
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-aids-day

World AIDS Day - Rock the ribbon with us
https://www.worldaidsday.org/