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. 




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]].

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