Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Oh, patents! Dove® chocolate truffles

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Considering stylish treats? Dove® truffles are not only individually wrapped confections that come in countless flavors, their design is also patented. In other words, the ornamental aspect of Dove® truffles is patented. Not the recipe, which could only be copyrighted, nor the manufacturing process of the truffles, which could only be protected by a utility patent. 

The design patent protecting the way Dove® truffles look, USD634509S, titled Confection, was awarded on March 22, 2011, to William Jason Greer and Jamie Yapsuga Baulier. The patent was then assigned to  Mars Inc., the privately-owned multinational company manufacturing the Dove® brand confectionary products. 

Below, the patent Figures 1 and 2, together with an image of two sample marketed Dove® truffles in milk and dark chocolate, ganache unspecified. The patent Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the design. The patent Figure 2 depicts a front view of the design. 




References

Mars Inc. 

https://www.mars.com/about

Dove® Chocolate (website)

https://www.dovechocolate.com/

No comments: