2026 European Inventor Awards - The Jury (3).

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann 

The members of the European Inventor Awards Jury included both Young Inventor Award and former European Inventor Award recipients. 

Wolfgang M. Heckl (Chair) is the former Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich. He is Emeritus of Excellence at the Munich Technical University, Senior Excellence Faculty, and holds the Oskar von Miller Chair for science communication at the Technical University in Munich, where he researches molecular self-organization in nanotechnology.

Mark Kennedy Bantugon is the recipient of an EPO Young Inventor Award in 2025. Bantugon is an aeronautical engineer, materials scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, specializing in sustainable innovation. He established Pili AdheSeal Inc., to bring to market an aircraft sealant and adhesive made from Pili Tree resin agricultural waste.

Catia Bastioli is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2007. Bastioli is CEO and President of the Novamont Group (acquired by Versalis, part of Eni, in 2023).

Esben Beck is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2019. Beck is an inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of Stingray Marine Solutions.

Nuria Espallargas is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2022. Espallargas is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Joachim Fiedler is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2022. Fiedler studied at the University of the Arts in Berlin and worked as a professional cellist in several orchestras and ensembles.

Marta Karczewicz is the recipient of the European Patent Office, life-time achievement award in 2019. Karczewicz is Vice-President of Technology at Qualcomm, where she has driven advances in data coding algorithms since 2006.

 

Gaute Munch is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2018. Munch joined the LEGO Group as an electronic engineer in 1997, and currently leads the company’s electrical and digital product safety. 

Marie Perrin is the recipient of an EPO Young Inventor Award in 2025. Perrin is a chemist and entrepreneur. She is currently Pioneer Fellow at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), in Zurich, leading the startup project REEcover. A project that invokes an innovative process to recover rare earth elements from electronic waste.

Laura van't Veer is the recipient of a European Inventor Award in 2015. She is Chief Research Officer and the co-founder of Agendia, a molecular diagnostics company focused solely on breast cancer. She is full professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University California, in San Francisco. 

Roujia Wen is the recipient of an EPO Young Inventor Award in 2025. She is the co-founder of Seabound, a company that builds modular, retrofittable carbon capture systems for cargo ships. 

Reference
2026 European Inventor Award  - About the Award.
https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award/about-award

European Inventor Popular Prize - Vote here! (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The European Patent Office (EPO) invites the public to vote for the Finalist who will receive the Popular Prize. The Popular Prize winner, solely decided by the public, will be announced on the occasion of the European Inventor Awards Ceremony, to be held in Berlin, on July 2nd, 2026. 

The rules for voting are the following:

• You may vote for one to three inventors each day until the votes are counted, during the Awards Ceremony on July 2nd. 

• Click on your first choice and then follow the prompts to accept the voting conditions.

• Registration to vote requires an authenticated email, or a social media account, the first time you vote. Click below to vote for your favorite inventors/inventions!

• Voting is free.

Click here to vote!

Reference
European Inventor Awards 2026
https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award#finalists

European Inventor Awards 2026 - The Finalists (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

On July 2nd, 2026, the prestigious European Inventor Awards will be conferred upon inventors competing in one of four categories: Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),  Research, and Non-members of the European Patent Organization. This year, the ceremony will take place in Berlin, Germany.

Below, the list of the 12 finalists and their competing inventions, in each of the four categories.

Industry
• Giuseppe Crippa†, Roberto Crippa, Stefano Felici, Riccardo Vettori, Raffaele Vallauri, Flavio Maggioni and team (Italy).
Invention: Probe card advancements for testing microchips.
Sample patents
EP2984492B1 - Testing head of electronic devices.

EP3794357B1 - High-performance probe card in high-frequency.
EP3707519B1 - Contact probe for a testing head for testing high-frequency devices.

• Evangelos Eleftheriou and team (Switzerland/Greece).
Invention:  Improvements to the stability and reliability of digital data storage.
Sample patents
EP2277173B1 - Error correction coding of longitudinal position information.
EP2513798B1 - Reducing access contention in flash-based memory systems.
EP2260491B1 - Error correction capability for longitudinal position data in a tape storage system.

 
• Angeliki Triantafyllou (Greece/Sweden)
Invention: Improved enzymatic process to prepare tasty oat drinks with a creamy mouthfeel, for the lactose-intolerant and as an alternative to the high energy footprint of dairy milk production.
Sample patent

EP2953482B1 – Liquid oat base. 

Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• Jan Čmelík and team (Czech Republic). 
Invention: Electrospinning of nanofibers to scale the reliable manufacture of nanofibers used for various industrial and medical applications. 
Sample patents
EP2291555B1 - Method and device for spinning of polymer composition in electrostatic field.
EP2732079B1 - Method for application of liquid polymeric material onto spinning cords and a device for production of nanofibers through electrostatic spinning.

• Przemek Ben Paczek and team (Poland).
Invention: Magnetic propulsion retrofitting technology to upgrade rails. 
Sample patents 
EP3841249B1 - Magnetic levitation railway system.
EP3938577B1 - Vacuum tube railway system.

• Franck Zal (France)
Invention: Captured the oxygen-carrying molecule M101 in marine worm hemoglobin for the preservation of transplant organs and other medical therapeutic uses. 
Sample patent 
EP3008166B1 - Sand worm lyophilisate and uses thereof.
EP2748306B1 - Use of annelid hemoglobin for maintaining stem cells in the undifferentiated state.
EP2184977B1 - Use of a globin, a globin protomer or an extracellular hemoglobin for the preservation of organs, tissues, organ and tissue cells.

Research
• Adrian V.S. Hill (Ireland/United Kingdom) 
Invention: Invention of an adjuvant for the development of a highly effective malaria vaccine.
Sample patent
EP2945649 B1 -  Composition and uses thereof.

• Mikko Möttönen (Finland)
Invention: Cryogenic microwave sensor for quantum computing.
Sample patent
EP3714245B1 - Cryogenic microwave analyzer.

• Paula Videira and team (Portugal)
Invention: The L2a5 monoclonal antibody for identifying and targeting cancer cells. 
Sample patent 
EP3743726B1 - L2a5 antibody or functional fragment thereof against tumor antigens.

Non-EPO Countries
• Yu Haijun and Xie Yinghao (China)
Invention: Smart battery recycling, using "reverse-positioning" technology to convert spent batteries into ultra-high-quality new cathode materials.
Sample patent
EP4206141B1 - Method for preparing lithium nickel cobalt manganate by means of reverse positioning of power battery and use thereof.

• Emily Morris and Thorsten Stoesser (United States/Germany). 
Invention: Novel distributed hydropower generation systems.
Sample patent
EP3682107B1 - Hydro transition systems and methods of using the same.

• Aníbal Montalva Rodríguez and Miguel Ángel Fernández Donoso (Chile). 
Invention: Sample patent: Living biofilter for efficient air purification
Sample patent
EP3345671B1 - Systems for decontamination by means of a biofilter for retaining and recycling pollutants of particulate material from combustion fumes, and method thereof.

Reference

European Patent Awards 2026 - Press Release

https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/press-centre/press-release/2026/1362414

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (4)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The  Blue Dot Rule Console, with two softclose doors and two softclose drawers, is part of a 5-piece Blu Dot Rule Collection, comprising nightstand, large dresser, chiffonier and 1-door 2 drawers console. The pieces are all about geometry, each resting on a powder-coated steel base.

The Rule Console design was granted the US design patent USD870492S, titled Console. The patent was awarded to Warren Young, an in-house designer at Blu Dot, on December 24, 2019.

The patent Figure 1 together with an image of a marketed Rule Console in solid oak veneer,  are enclosed below.

Reference

Blu Dot furniture

https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (3)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Blu Dot Host Chair is a bucket dining chair made of engineered wood and molded foam for generous padding and comfort. The Blu Dot Host chair was granted the US design patent USD890541S, titled Chair. The patent was awarded on July  21, 2020 to B. Bradshaw Bray, former Senior designer at Blu Dot. The patent is assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing in Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, together with an image of a marketed embodiment of the Host Chair, is included below. The two broken lines running down the middle of the chair indicate that all portions of the design are covered, since nothing appears between the broken lines, which conventionally mark boundaries between what is claimed and unclaimed in a patent.

Reference
Blue Dot 
https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Blu Dot Neat Chair, shown below in charcoal wool-blend felt, is completely covered from top to bottom in felt. Under the felt, the Neat Chair has a wood frame, injected foam, and metal legs. The “footie pajama” design is built to offer soft, comfortable seating. 

The Blu Dot Neat Chair is also a patented design. The US design patent, USD845021S, titled Dining Chair, was awarded to B. Bradshaw Bray, former Senior Designer at Blu Dot, on April 9th, 2019. The patent was assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing, Inc., Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, depicting a front-right perspective view of the chair, is also included below. The dotted lines at the bottom of the four chair legs indicate that the small chair feet form no part of the claimed design.  

Reference

Blu Dot 

https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Founded in Minneapolis, in 1997, by college friends, architects and sculptor, John Christakos, Maurice Blanks, and Charlie Lazo, Blu Dot seeks to make good design accessible to as many people as possible. Everything that is sold at Blu Dot stores is designed in-house. 

In 2018, the company was awarded the prestigious Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum, National Design Award, in the category of Product Design. The company was also granted several US design patents. 

For example, the US Design patent, USD905978S, titled Seating unit, was awarded on Dec. 29th, 2020, to Blu Dot Designer, Scott Smrstick. The patent was then assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing, Inc., in Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, showing a front upper perspective view of the design, is included below. The two symbolic broken lines, running the length of the design, indicate that all portions of the design are covered, since nothing appears between the broken lines, which conventionally mark boundaries between what is claimed and unclaimed in a patent.

An image of a marketed embodiment of the design, in velvet, is also included below, facing the patent Figure 1. The invented design is designated the Bloke Lounge Chair in stores. 

References
Blu Dot 
https://www.bludot.com/
2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award Winners
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/national-design-awards/2018-national-design-awards-winners/ 

Oh, patents! Madeleine Vionnet [1876 - 1975] (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

A US design patent, USD82687S, titled Design for a bottle or similar container was awarded to Madeliene Vionnet, on May 17th, 1927. The  Art Deco-style bottle was made of clear glass with flattened metal edges.  

Below, the patent Figure 1, together with a marketed embodiment of the design. 

.              

Reference

Maison Vionnet 

https://www.vionnet.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooPBS18XeWeZo8qIDFq33CNMnhi4Le2XSOQLdP9Iq-Et4bHhWZw

Oh, patents! Madeleine Vionnet [1876-1975] (1)

 Copyright ☺ Françoise Herrmann 

Born in 1876, Madeleine Vionnet was a French fashion designer, credited for having invented bias-cut dresses. These were dresses cut at a 45-degree angle to the fabric’s warp and weft threads, instead of straight along the grain. As a result, Vionnet was able to drape dresses, using the natural stretch of the fabric, which enabled her to create dresses that mold women’s bodies. Indeed, Vionnet was part of a movement in the 1930s that liberated women from the corset, creating figure-hugging garments that flowed, instead of restricting women’s bodies.

Madeleine Vionnet opened her own Fashion House, rue de Rivoli, in Paris, in 1912, which she was forced to close twice: once because of World War I (in 1914), and a second time because of World War II (in 1939). Thus, she was a leading fashion designer during the roaring 20s up to the Great Depression, between both wars. The archives of her work are preserved at the Decorative Arts Museum (Musée des Arts Décoratifs [MAD]), housed in the Marsan Pavillion at The Louvre, in Paris. 

The following French utility patent, FR576334A, titled Perfectionnement dans la confection des robes de dames [Improvements in dressmaking for ladies] was granted on May 10th, 1924. The patent recites an improved process for dressmaking whereby the garment’s pattern, and the fabric’s ornaments or decorations, in this case lamé, are both anticipated and drawn, prior to weaving the fabric.

This improved dressmaking process was intended to resolve several problems with the prior art. First, this improved dressmaking process eliminated the costly and time-consuming process of embroidering lamé, or adding decorations onto the fabric, after it is cut and assembled for each client. Secondly, this improved dressmaking process avoided “mutilating” lamé designs and fabric decorations, pre-woven on a bolt of material, which was then subsequently cut to the neckline, armholes, waist or hip line of a given pattern. In other words, the dressmaking improvement avoided interrupting an existing motif, or wasting fabric to get a pre-existing motif to fit the garment shape and pattern. Finally, the invention would enable garments to be easily adjusted to size and length, without cutting into a pre-existing design. The fabric decoration, lamé, or other embroidery or painting, would be created within the boundaries (collar, arm holes, waistline) of an outlined pattern, prior to weaving, thus transforming the dressmaking end-of-process—garment cutting and assembly— into swift and cost-effective steps.

The patent Figure 2 is included below, together with an image of a marketed dress. The Figure 2 depicts a cut and assembled dress with the ornamental decoration at the top, perfectly fitting the neckline and shoulder assembly points, without interruptions to the ornamental motif.

References

Maison Vionnet 

https://www.vionnet.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooPBS18XeWeZo8qIDFq33CNMnhi4Le2XSOQLdP9Iq-Et4bHhWZw

MAD - Madeleine Vionnet  Puriste de la Mode. Catalogue de l’Exposition du 24 juin 2009, au 1er janvier 2010. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Pavillon Marsan du Musée du Louvre.

https://madparis.fr/spip.php?page=recherche&lang=fr&recherche=Madeleine+vionnet&x=0&y=0

Vionnet (Instagram)

https://www.instagram.com/vionnet_paris/

Earth Day 2026

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

© NASA - Planet Earth seen by Artemis II astronauts from the Orion spacecraft window on April 6, 2026.

Founded in 1970 by US Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day is observed by 190 nations worldwide. This year’s theme is Our Power, Our Planet. 

Earth Day offers an opportunity to take collective and individual action: to protect the environment, to mitigate climate change, and to promote sustainable practices. Whether it is planting trees, making sustainable fashion choices, reducing plastic consumption, participating in advocacy, cleaning beaches, or donating, every action counts. 

For a list of Earth Day events in your area (worldwide), click here.

References

EarthDay.org

https://www.earthday.org/

Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day.

https://nelsonearthday.net/

NASA - Artemis II Mission.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

UNEP (April 10, 2026). Humanity’s presence in space is expanding. So, too, are the environmental challenges. United Nations Environmental Protection.

https://tinyurl.com/4b9yzxh8

Oh, patents! Voltpost Air Canvas

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Voltpost also customizes their wrap-around electric-vehicle chargers. The customized versions are designated Voltpost Air Canvas, electric-vehicle chargers. They are second-generation Voltposts, wrapped around the top of lampposts, equipped with mobile-operated charging cables (shown in orange below) that are lowererd and raised from the lampposts' tops.*

Note

* The US utility (US20240198827A1) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WO2024059088A2) patents, respectively recite the Voltpost wraparound EV charger solution, and the mobile-operated charging cable solution, in second-generation Voltpost versions, mounted at the top of the lamppost. 

Reference

Voltpost

www.voltpost.com

Oh, patents! Voltpost EV charger design patent (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Voltpost wraparound EV charger solution was also awarded the US design patent, USD1089074S1, titled Electric vehicle charging station. The patent covers the ornamental features of the EV charging station invention. This design patent was awarded to Joern Vicari, Jeffrey Borges Jones, Yang Cheng, Yerin Cho, Chiraag M Hebbar and Alejandro Enrique Vallejo, on August 19, 2025. The patent was then assigned to Voltpost Inc., in New York, NY.

 

Below, the extracted patent Figure 3 drawing shows a perspective view of the EV charging station, with the charging cable handle disconnected from the charging station. The broken lines marking the disconnected charging cable indicate that the charging cable is unprotected. An image of the marketed Voltpost EV charging station, located on Howard Street, in San Francisco, appears next the patent Figure 3. The neon yellow charging cable is depicted plugged into an electric vehicle.

Reference
Voltpost

https://www.voltpost.com/

Oh, patents! Voltpost EV charger design patent (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Voltpost wraparound EV charger solution was also awarded US design patents, covering the ornamental features of the invention. For example, the US design patent, USD1055844S1, titled Charging station was awarded to Joern Vicari Joel Rapaport and Jeffrey B. Jones, on December 31, 2024, for the design of the Generation 1 Voltpost EV charger that wraps around the base of a lampost. The patent was then assigned to Voltpost, Inc., in New York, NY.  

Below, the extracted patent Figure 1 drawing shows a perspective view of the Voltpost EV charger. The broken lines marking the charging cable, connected to the wraparound EV charger, indicate that this part of the design is unprotected. An image of the marketed Voltpost charger, Generation 1, appears next to the patent figure drawing. The charging cable on the image appears in neon yellow.

Reference
Voltpost
https://www.voltpost.com/

Oh, patents! Voltpost Air EV chargers - Generation 2.

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Generation 2 Voltpost Air is an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger that wraps around the top of a regular, public utility lamppost. The Voltpost Air EV charger is mobile-app-operated, with a charging cable that is lowered and raised from the Voltpost Air wraparound solution, installed at the top of the lamppost (see image below). Thus, the Voltpost Air EV charger Generation 2, like the Generation 1 Voltpost EV charger installed at the base of a lamppost, also cooperates with the existing electric grid infrastructure, built into public lampposts, bypassing the prohibitive costs of new infrastructure.

In a nutshell, the Voltpost solution seeks to resolve the shortage of EV chargers. The absence of widespread availability of EV chargers is believed to ultimately prevent wider use of EV vehicles. As a result, the proportion of fossil fuel burned by cars (which produce 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions) remains insufficiently abated, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, which are assumed to cause global warming.   

The cable mechanism invention for the Voltpost Air EV charger is recited in a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application, filed at the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The WIPO patent application WO2024/59088A2, titled Cable mechanism for EV charging station, was published on March 21, 2024. The inventors on record are Chiraag, M. HEBBAR and Alejandro, Enrique VALLEJO, both from California. 

Below, the extracted patent Figure 1 depicts a cable mechanism, embodying the invention.  According to the invention, the Figure 1 comprises a cable mechanism 100, comprising a housing 130 with an energy input opening 132, and an exit opening 131 (for the charging cable 101). Inside the housing, a motor assembly 110 and a pulley assembly 120 operate a charging cable 101, which has a free end 102, a fixed end 105, a portion 104 in between engaged with the pulley assembly 120, and a portion 103 that leads the charging cable up or down. The pulley assembly 120 moves from a first to a second position to lower the charging cable 101, and from a second to a first position to retract the charging cable. The fixed end of the charging cable 105 is connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) 140. A controller 150 synchronizes the motor 110 drive with the pulley assembly 120 to maintain tension and prevent buckling of the charging cable 101. The free end of the charging cable 102 has a user-control unit 155 with buttons to raise and lower the charging cable 101.

  

Below, the patent Abstract.

The cable mechanism dispenses and retracts a cable having a free and a fixed end. The cable mechanism includes a motor assembly configured to engage a leading portion of the cable to dispense or retract the cable and a pulley assembly configured to engage a following portion of the cable. The following portion may be arranged between the leading portion and the fixed end of the cable. The pulley assembly may be movable relative to the motor assembly between a first position and a second position. Moving the pulley assembly from the first position to the second position may dispense the cable, and moving the pulley assembly from the second position to the first position may retract the cable.

[Abstract WO2024/59088A2]

Reference
Voltpost
https://www.voltpost.com/ 

Oh, patents! Voltpost EV chargers - Generation 1.

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann  

Voltpost Inc., is a company that has found a way to resolve the shortages of Electric Vehicle chargers, without significantly disrupting existing grid infrastructure. This invention is significant, considering that the installation of new grid infrastructure is precisely the problematic situation that has been hindering the large-scale deployment of EV chargers.

Indeed, the solution is a bit like an elephant in the room. Voltpost is simply tapping into the existing grid infrastructure found in public lampposts. They have created lamppost wraparound solutions that take just a couple of hours to install in what they call “charging deserts”.

In Voltpost’s own terms:

“Voltpost retrofits lampposts into a modular and upgradable electric vehicle charging platform. This provides people convenient and affordable charging access while reducing the cost, timing, and footprint of chargers.”

Generation 1,  mobile-operated, Voltpost EV chargers wrap around the base of lampposts with one or several retractable cables for charging electric of hybrid vehicles (see image below). 

The Voltpost invention won a Time Magazine 2025 Best Innovation Award. The inventors have also been awarded several US patents, both utility patents for the how the Voltpost invention works, and design patents for the ornamental features of the Voltpost invention. For example the US utility patent USD1089074S1, titled Electric vehicle charging station, was awarded to Joern Vicari, Jeffrey Borges Jones, Yang Cheng, Yerin Cho, Chiraag M Hebbar and Alejandro Enrique Vallejo, on June 20th, 2024. The patent was then assigned to Voltpost Inc., in New York, NY. 

Below, the patent Figure 1, depicting the primary components of an electric vehicle charging system 100. The system is intended to transform a standard street lamppost 105 into a smart electric vehicle (EV) charging station 110. The EV charging station 110 surrounds the base of the lamppost 105 with a modular base protective unit 125, and a user-interactive technical unit 140, originally into which the user can plug a charging cable 135, to charge a vehicle 120 (electric or hybrid). The EV charging station 110 is managed by a mobile app 115, installed on a mobile device such as a smartphone 195, enabling a cloud-based charge management system 200 for charging the vehicle 120. Alternatively, a Bluetooth connection can exist between the EV charging unit 110 and the mobile device 195.

Below the patent abstract of the invention:

A system with a technical unit having modules that, when assembled, surround a periphery of a lamppost, at least one of the modules having an electric charging function capability, a non-charging function capability, or a communications function capability. The system may be charging station for charging an electric vehicle from a power source inside the lamppost may include a base unit to surround the base of the lamppost. [Abstract USD1089074S1]

Refererence

Voltpost

https://www.voltpost.com/ 

Salvador Dali - Poetry of America (1948) aka Cosmic Athletes

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In Poetry of America, aka Cosmic Athletes, Savador Dali, explores “American culture, consumerism, and racial tensions through dreamlike imagery, featuring American football players, a giant Coca-Cola bottle, and a map of Africa” (Figuerez Ortiz, 2015). 

This surrealist masterpiece was created during World War II when the artist was exiled in the United States. The Coca-Cola bottle depicted in Poetry of America is the first recorded instance of the iconic bottle in art. Below, an image of the painting with an image of the Coca-Cola bottle detail. 

  

Note

*Poesia de America. Los atletas cósmicos.

References

- Dali, S. (1948). Poetry of America. Oil on canvas. Permanent Collection at the Dalí Theatre-Museum (Teatro-Museo Dalí), in Figueres, Spain. 

- Figueres Ortiz, Pau (March 8, 2015). Salvador Dali - Poetry of America (1943). Blog: The Revolution will be sponsored.

https://larevolucionserapatrocinada.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/salvador-dali-poetry-of-america-1943/

Robert Rauschenberg - Coca-Cola Plan (1958)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Coca-Cola Plan is part of Rauschenberg’s “Combines” series (1954-64), where he not only blurred the lines between sculpture and painting, but also incorporated everyday objects into art, elevating and transforming them into artistic statements. According to the Robert  Rauschenger Foundation, the artist “sought to act in the 'gap' between art and life, valuing chance and collaboration across disciplines.” 

The Coca-Cola Plan is a vertical trophy-sized wall piece, comprising a  narrow rectangular wood frame, with three levels. The top level is covered with brown paper and the “PLAN” in writing. The middle level, open in the back, houses three vintage green glass Coca-Cola bottles. One of the bottles is dripping with thick oil paint in red and orange. Another bottle has a smear of brown and blue-green paint, and the center bottle has no paint. The third level, closed in the back, has a large round carved newel staircase cap. Two metal wings are attached on each side of the wooden frame, at the middle level. 

The Coca-Cola Plan is a piece among others in the "Combines" series that is credited with “forever changing the course of American Abstract Expressionism”, removing intense emotions, to engage with everyday life and objects. 

References
Rauschenberg, R.  (1958) Coca-Cola Plan – Pencil on paper, oil on three Coca-Cola bottles, wood newel cap, and cast metal wings on wood structure. Permanent Collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles, CA. 
https://www.moca.org/collection/work/coca-cola-plan 

Robert Rauschenberg Foundation 

https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/foundation 

Andy Warhol - Green Coca-Cola bottles (1962)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

According to the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City, where Andy Warhol's famous Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962) are located:

"Andy Warhol’s Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962) is a defining Pop Art piece representing mass consumerism, conformity, and democratic access to consumer goods. Using silkscreen printing, the painting features 112 identical, bright green Coke bottles on a white background, highlighting the ubiquity and standardization of American culture".

According to Andy Warhol:  

“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the president drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” (Warhol, 1975)

References
-Warhol, A. (1975). The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. New York, NY: Harcourt Publishing Company.  
-Warhol, A. (1962). Green Coca Cola Bottles. Painting, acrylic, screenprint, and graphite pencil on canvas. The Whitney Museum. Of American Art, New York, NY. 
https://whitney.org/collection/works/3253 

Oh, patents! The lightweight PET Coca-Cola bottle

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In an effort to address the global plastic pollution crisis*, The Coco-Cola Company has been steadily producing lighter PET**plastic bottles (Coca-Cola, 2024). The lighter bottles have new shapes allowing to produce the bottles using less plastic, while still guaranteeing beverage quality. Thus, over the course of 10 years, Coca-Cola bottles have steadily decreased weight, from 27 grams to a breakthrough 18.5 gram bottle, rolled out in 2024, for Coca-Cola soft drinks (Coke, Fanta and Sprite), in both the United States and Canada.

The reduced weight of the bottles has a significant impact. The unused plastic amounts to 800 million bottles less each year. Additionally, production of the lightweight bottle reduces the carbon footprint of bottle manufacturing by an amount equivalent to removing 17,000 cars off the road. Thus, the lightweight PET soft drink bottle is consistent with the goals that The Coca-Coca Company has set forth for a World without Waste.

The ornamental properties of the lightweight bottles, or the way the bottles look, are patented designs. For example, the US design patents USD760084S1, USD792229S1 and USD796332S1, all three titled Bottle,  respectively, correspond to the Coke, Fanta and Sprite lightweight bottle designs. However, the patent Figures (see below) for the three bottle designs each have broken lines at the base, indicating that the design patents do not cover the base of the bottles. Indeed, the base of the bottles is petaloid, which is an invention in its own right that allows gas to expand within the bottles, without stress-cracking the bottles, and by the same token enables the bottles to remain level and upright on a shelf. Thus, the petaloid base of the bottles is covered, for example, by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) utility patent WO2016019318A1, titled Lightweight base for carbonated beverage packaging. A patent that is part of a large family of patents, covering the petaloid base of the lightweight bottles. 

Below, the patent Figures for three of the lightweight bottle designs, excluding coverage of the base. The three patent Figures are shown above an image of the marketed lightweight PET bottles for Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Sprite soft drinks. 

USD796332S1

USD760084S1

USD792229S1

                   

Note
*Each year more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced. In the USA, only an estimated 27% of plastic is recycled. Worldwide, 10% of plastic is recycled. As a result, approximately 2000 trucks of plastic are dumped into the ocean every day.  Thus, Each year 19 to 23 million tons of plastic leak into aquatic systems, polluting rivers, lakes and oceans (UNEP, 2025). 

** PET = polyethylene terephthalate

References
UNEP (July 1, 2025). Plastic Pollution. UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
https://www.unep.org/plastic-pollution
Coca-Cola (March 28, 2024). Coca-Cola North America Debuts New Lightweight PET Bottle Designs. The Coca-Cola Company website. 
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/media-center/coca-cola-north-america-debuts-new-lightweight-pet-bottle-designs