Patents on the soles of your shoes...

Monday, October 26, 2026

Interlude - Pierre Dubreuil's Éléphantaisie (1908).

Pierre Dubreuil – Éléphantaisie (1908).

Photo, acquired in 2009 by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Pierre Dubreuil's [1872-1944] photograph depicts Emmanuel Frémiet's [1824-1910] life-size bronze sculpture of a young elephant caught in a trap (Éléphant pris au piège). Originally commissioned for the Paris World Fair (Exposition Universelle), in 1878, the piece stood on a pedestal in front of the original Trocadero Palace, as part of a tetraptych, comprising a horse, a bull, and a rhinoceros. The sculptures were moved to the Paris Musée d’Orsay's front court, in 1986, when the museum was inaugurated.*

Dubreuil's photograph, using a telephoto lens, foregrounds the Éléphant pris au piège statue against the Eiffel Tower. The photograph engulfs the viewer in horror before the pain of a gentle giant, trapped by the cruel cupidity of cunning predators.

Note

The Frémiet sculptures are currently being renovated as part of a larger museum-access remodeling project. The Frémiet sculptures, including the trapped elephant, are scheduled to return to the Paris Musée d'Orsay's front court at the end of 2027.

References

Pierre Dubreuil's Éléphantaisie (1908) – De Young Museum/Legion of Honor - The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

https://www.famsf.org/artworks/elephantaisie

Mais où partent les statues du parvis du Musée d'Orsay? [Now, where are the statues of the Orsay Museum?] - Musée d'Orsay.

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/node/329747

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Oh, patents! Gucci® fabric design

The widely recognizable monogrammed fabric design, comprising two facing ‘g’s, one of which is inverted, represents the founder’s initials, Guccio Gucci. This monogrammed fabric design is patented. The US design patent, USD400360, titled Top surface of a fabric, was awarded to Domenico De Sole, on November 3rd, 1998, and assigned to Guccio Gucci S.p.A., in Florence, Italy.

Below, the sole patent Figure image depicting a front elevation view of the top surface of a fabric, showing the monogrammed design. Beneath the patent Figure, the image of one of the large Guccio Gucci Totes, unveiled during the Gucci® Cruise 2026 fashion show in Florence, Italy. The Guccio Gucci Tote shown here is made of beige canvas with the patented facing-and-inverted GG monogram. This Guccio Gucci Tote also has a black leather trim and gold-tone hardware that includes a small interlocking GG, on the equally iconic green-and-red Gucci® web stripe. The Cruise 2026 Guccio Gucci Tote comes in 17 different styles. The monogrammed canvas is otherwise used for countless Gucci® accessories.

Reference
Gucci® (website)
https://www.gucci.com/

Friday, October 9, 2026

Oh, patents! Vintage Gucci® bag (3)

The vintage Gucci® Dionysus bag is a patented design. The US design patent, USD798046S, titled, Handbag, was awarded to Alessandro Michel on September 26, 2017, and assigned to Guccio Gucci S.p.A., in Florence, Italy.

The below patent Figure 1 depicts a front perspective view of the inventive design. The chain appears with a symbolic break to indicate that the patent does not cover any part that might appear between the break, considering that the chain might slide as a single shoulder strap or double-up as a handle.

The small emerald-green marketed Gucci® Dionysus bag, shown next to the patent Figure 1, is made of pebbled calfskin leather. The shoulder strap drop is 14.75 inches. The handle drop is 8.5 inches. The two-tone palladium-and-gold hardware, with inlaid green crystals, depicts the “twice-born” Greek God of wine Dionysus.

Reference

Gucci® (website)
https://www.gucci.com/

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Oh, patents! Vintage Gucci® bag (2)

The vintage Gucci® Padlock bag is a patented design. The US design patent, USD772564S, titled, Handbag, was awarded to Alessandro Michel on November 29, 2016, and assigned to Guccio Gucci S.p.A., in Florence, Italy.

The below patent Figure 1 depicts a front perspective view of the inventive design. The chain appears symbolically sectioned to indicate that the patent does not cover any part that might appear above the break, considering that the chain might slide as a single shoulder strap or double-up as a handle.

The marketed Gucci® Padlock bag shown below the patent Figure 1, is made of black calfskin. The shoulder strap drop is 18.75 inches, the handle drop is 11.25 inches.

Reference

Gucci® (website)
https://www.gucci.com/

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Oh, patents! Vintage Gucci® bag (1)

Founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Italy, as a luggage and leather accessory store, Guccio Gucci S.p.A., backed by foreign investment, now operates 635 luxury stores worldwide, employing 20,000 employees, selling ready-to-wear apparel, footwear, handbags, furnishings, and perfume, with an annual revenue of 7.65 billion euros (in 2024). Rocked by internal feuds and scandals, fictionalized in the Hollywood motion picture House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga, the prestigious luxury brand endures, with more than 1000 design patents awarded and assigned.

The following US design patent*, USD770175S, titled Handbag, was awarded to Alessandro Michele, on November 1, 2016, and assigned to Guccio Gucci S.p.A. in Florence, Italy. The patented design was marketed as the Gucci® Animalier Tiger flap purse.

Below, the patent figure 1 depicts a front perspective view of the handbag, together with an image of a marketed embodiment. The marketed product is crafted in black leather, with dramatic antique gold-tone tiger-head hardware.

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Note
As a reminder, a US design patent protects the ornamental aspects of an invention, or what the inventive design looks like. US design patents are different from US utility patents, which protect how an invention works or is manufactured.

References
Gucci® (website)
https://www.gucci.com/
House of Gucci (trailer). Director: Ridley Scott, 158 minutes, 2021.
https://youtu.be/pGi3Bgn7U5U?si=Us7CiRtFcQsWfOpK

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

International Translation Day 2026

September 30th is International Translation Day, since 2017, when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted this day as part of the UN calendar of celebrations. The UN General Assembly’s unanimous decision was set forth in UN Resolution A/RES/71/288, which recognized:

"The role of translation in connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development." [UN A/RES/71/288]

Celebration on September 30th, each year, was specifically selected as International Translation Day because this is also the Day of the Feast of Saint Jerome in the Calendar of Saints. Saint Jerome, was a multilingual scholar in the Year 340 AD, known to have translated the Bible from the original (Old Testament) Hebrew and the Greek (Septuagint) versions, into a unified Latin version, called the Vulgate. Thus, Saint Jerome’s Latin version of the bible not only unified two previous versions, but also made the bible more accessible to a wider audience.

Each year, since 2017, the International Federation of Translators (IFT) selects a theme for International Translation Day. The 2026 theme for International Translation Day is Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights: The Power of Being Understood.

Below, the FIT/IFT poster celebrating International Translation Day 2026, together with a United Nations YouTube video, shining a multilingual light on the many translation professions at the United Nations.

References
International Federation of Translators (IFT)
https://en.fit-ift.org/international-translation-day-2026/
United Nations - International Translators Day 2026
https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-translation-day

UN Resolution A/RES/71/288

https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/1288376?v=pdf

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Oh, patents! Driscoll's clamshell container.

Titled Clamshell raspberry container, the scope of the US patent, US9469458B2*, assigned to Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc., extends well beyond raspberries. According to the patent, the clamshell invention extends to “such as various berries, grapes or other fruit or produce items”. Indeed, this is quite a recognizable clamshell container, at least on most of the large US supermarket displays.

Considering the notable fragility of berries and the extra careful handling they require, Driscoll’s clamshell invention was structurally designed to further protect produce during shipping and transport, and to enhance freshness. Protection was designed using a divider that both prevents the closed lid of stacked containers from collapsing and the containers from twisting or bending, which would damage the produce. Enhanced freshness involves a series of vents on the periphery of the lid and the bottom of the clamshell, essentially designed to allow air to continuously flow through, thereby keeping the produce cool in a cooled environment, while preventing the accumulation of too much condensation. Otherwise, the container snaps shut at corners, and a hinged spine connects the lid to the body on one side of the clamshell container. The preferred shape of the clamshell is rectangular, and is fabricated of molded plastic.

The patent Figure 1, included below, is a top plan perspective view of a closed stackable clamshell container, according to the invention. The Figure 1 depicts the top lid 24 perforated side vents 4, and two corner snaps 20. The top lid 24 is connected pivotally to the container with a spine 12 extending on the full length of one side. On the periphery of the container bottom 26, there are also side vents 34. In between each of the bottom vents 34, there are inwardly curved indentations 7 designed to push fruit away from the bottom vents 34, to prevent obstruction of the vents and/or laceration of the fruit. The top surface of the center divider 6 contacts the lid when it is closed to prevent collapsing and crushing of the fruit. The center divider has two lower shoulders 8, on each side of the center 6, designed to enable airflow. The extended center divider is also connected to the full height of the side walls, to strengthen the tray and prevent torsion. Additional airflow windows 2 enable air circulation above the container’s curved side walls 28.

The patent abstract is included below.

A container that includes a tray having a base bottom portion and one or more sidewalls having a volume for holding a product; a lid that is attachable to the tray to protect the product in the tray when attached thereto; and a divider for providing a plurality of compartments with a predetermined volume in the tray, the divider configured, dimensioned and positioned to provide support to the lid, air flow between the compartments and torsional rigidity to the tray. The most preferred container of the invention is a rectangular clamshell container as described herein that includes a spine which is pivotally hinged to the base bottom portion via the lid. This preferred container also includes a plurality of snap-locking members for attaching the lid to the tray for retaining contents therein. [Abstract US9469458B2]

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Note

*The patent was awarded to the following four California inventors: Malkeet Singh Padda (US); Craig R. Snedden (US); Gandhi B. Sifuentes (US); Cesar Ramirez (US).

Reference
Driscoll's (website)
https://www.driscolls.com/