Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
The US design patent USD648235S1, titled Shape measuring tool, was awarded on November 8th 2011 to Susan C. Smith-Habelow, and assigned to Levi Strauss & Co. This design patent covers the ornamental aspects of the Curve ID shape measuring tool, comprising two measuring tapes. In other words, this design patent claims protection for the way this version of the Curve ID, shape measuring, tool looks like. In contrast, a utility patent reciting this Curve ID shape measuring tool, would claim protection for how the invention tool works. (USPTO)
The Figures 1 and 3, extracted from the set of 21 patent figure drawings, respectively depict a front view of the shape measuring tool, and a close up on a portion of the shape measuring tool, shown encircled in Figure 1. In particular, the Figure 1 depicts two measuring tapes, each attached to a belt, each using a rivet-secured loop, enabling the measuring tapes to slide into positions that facilitate girth measurements.
The Figure 3 close up faintly shows the word “inch” in dotted lines, which is explicitly excluded from the claimed design, since elsewhere the invention measuring tapes are specified as using any measuring units, whether customary US American, or international metric. Likewise the pairs of closely spaced, jagged broken lines, appearing the Figure 1 belt, indicate an indeterminate length.
Reference
Levi Strauss - https://www.levistrauss.com/
USPTO - MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent
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