Oh patents! My Special Aflac Duck® (2)

Copyright© Françoise Herrmann 

In addition to utility patents, Sproutel’s My Special Aflac Duck® was also awarded a US design patent. The American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) filed an application for a US design patent on January 5^th 2018. The US design patent, USD846040S1, was granted on April 16^th 2019, awarded to a team of seven inventors, and assigned to AFLAC, for a duration of 15 years.

As a reminder, a design patent covers the ornamental aspects of an invention, or how an invention looks. In contrast, a US utility patent covers the functional aspects of an invention, how the invention works, and/or is fabricated.  Per the USPTO Manual of Patent Examination Procedure:

 “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]].

Below, the patent Figure 1 of 11 drawings, showing a perspective view of the duck with beak open. The eyes, feet, and sensor, on the duck’s chest, are drawn with broken lines to indicate that they are excluded from the claimed design. Such components of the duck are covered in utility patens related to the animatronic and user interface aspects of the invention. A YouTube video of My Special Aflac Duck®, helping kids cope with a cancer diagnosis, is also included below. 

References

My Special Aflac Duck®  https://aflacchildhoodcancer.org/myduck.cfm

Sproutel Inc.  https://www.sproutel.com/

USPTO MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent.
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Oh, patents! Skip*Hop® Moby bath spout cover

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Lots more Skip*Hop® patented bath time fun for you and your tot!

The Skip*Hop®, whale-looking, Moby bath spout cover is designed to protect tots from injuring themselves with a protruding bath spout when playing in the tub, on in case they slip.

According to one aspect of the invention, the Moby bath spout cover is designed for easy installation and removal from the bath spout. Easy removal is deemed necessary for proper drying and prevention of mildew and mold formation. The snug fit of the spout cover is obtained with the design of a strap that fits under the bath spout and adjusts to tighten or loosen the fit of both sides of the spout cover, around the spout. This aspect of the invention also affords use of the spout cover invention with various types and sizes of bath spouts.

According to another aspect of the invention, the bath spout cover also includes an opening on the top portion of the cover, which is designed to accommodate the shower diverter of a bath spout.

Finally, the Moby whale design is also an integral part of the invention as it is deemed important that the embodiment of the bath spout cover be aesthetically pleasing and appealing to little children! Indeed, in a perfect design match of form and function, the ends of the adjustable strap thus appear as small fins on each side the whale (See Item 26 on the patent drawing). 

US2015265104 titled Bath spout cover was filed on Sept. 24, 2015. The abstract of the invention is included below, as well as one of the patent drawings and an image of the marketed Moby whale product.

A bath spout cover is provided that includes a body structure having an upper portion, two opposing side portions, and a front portion; a receiving area defined between the upper portion, the two opposing side portions, and the front portion; a strap spanning the two opposing side portions, said strap being adjustable on at least one of the side portions of the body structure; and at least one aperture defined by one of the side portions of the body structure, said aperture for receiving an end of the strap. Further provided are methods for securing a bath spout cover to a bath spout. [Abstract US2015265104] 

Ted.com - Ideas worth spreading

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann “Riveting talks by amazing people, free to the world! “Great talks to stir your curiosity (inspiring, jaw-dropping, funny!)” TED is a non-profit dedicated to the diffusion of “ideas worth spreading” at the intersection of Technology, Entertainment and Design (since 1984). Some of the most interesting and active people in the world are invited to give talks in 18 minutes or less at two annual conferences: a springtime conference on the West coast of the US, and a summertime international conference, held at various locations. This year’s global TED conference, for example, will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland (in the UK). The talks are then made publicly available on-line at TED.com (since 2007). And many additional events and groups, such as TED Open University, TED Salons, TEDIndia, TEDWomen, TED Fellows, and TEDPrize, have arisen out the company’s original desire to diffuse “Ideas worth spreading” – all of which now attract an audience of people in the billions. This is also a site that crowd-sources translations for subtitles, using time-coded and interactive transcripts! If the spirit moves you, this is a place to hone your multilingual subtitling skills!  FH Here is Dr. Bonnie Bassler on “Bacteria babble”: