Patents on the soles of your shoes...

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Oh, patents! Dove® chocolate bars

Trick or Treat? Treat with patented Dove® Chocolate bars. The US design patent, USD677856S, titled Candy, was awarded on March 19, 2013, to Lynn Krumbolz and Brent Anderson, the inventors of the Dove® Chocolate bar design (not the recipe). The patent was then assigned to Mars Inc., an American privately-owned, multinational food company that manufactures the Dove® brand products.

The patent Figure 1 is included below, together with images of the marketed Dove® Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate and Dove® Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate bars. The patent Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the chocolate candy bar. The trademarked Dove® ribbon, depicted on each square of the bar, is part of the claimed design.

Happy Halloween!

References

Mars Inc.

https://www.mars.com/about

Dove® Chocolate (website)

https://www.dovechocolate.com/

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Oh, patents! Dove® chocolate truffles

Considering stylish treats? Dove® truffles are not only individually wrapped confections that come in countless flavors, their design is also patented. In other words, the ornamental aspect of Dove® truffles is patented. Not the recipe, which could only be copyrighted, nor the manufacturing process of the truffles, which could only be protected by a utility patent.

The design patent protecting the way Dove® truffles look, USD634509S, titled Confection, was awarded on March 22, 2011, to William Jason Greer and Jamie Yapsuga Baulier. The patent was then assigned to Mars Inc., the privately-owned multinational company manufacturing the Dove® brand confectionary products.

Below, the patent Figures 1 and 2, together with an image of two sample marketed Dove® truffles in milk and dark chocolate, ganache unspecified. The patent Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the design. The patent Figure 2 depicts a front view of the design.

References

Mars Inc.

https://www.mars.com/about

Dove® Chocolate (website)

https://www.dovechocolate.com/

Monday, October 23, 2023

Oh, patents! Mars Delight

Does anyone remember Mars Delight bars? Mars Delight bars were sold for four years, from 2004 to 2008? The design of the two, wavy, wafered, chocolate and caramel, Mars Delight bars was a patented design. A patent was awarded only for the ornamental aspect of the bar—not for the recipe, nor the manufacturing process—just for the way the two Mars Delight bars looked, once removed from their wrapper.

The US design patent, USD634509S, titled Confection, was awarded on September 20, 2005 to Gemma Cudjoe, a British designer. The patent was then assigned to Mars Inc., the privately-owned, multinational confectionary company that manufactured the chocolate Mars Delight candy bars. Below, the patent Figure 1 depicts a front perspective view of the Mars Delight confectionary bar design, together with an image of the marketed product.

Reference

Mars Inc.

https://www.mars.com/about

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Oh, patents! Twix bars

Twix, short for "twin sticks" was launched in 1965, more than half a century ago. Twix is a tale of two-candy-bars-in-one. The right bar and the left bar, each one a crunchy shortbread biscuit, topped with caramel, and dipped in milk chocolate. However, it’s not the recipe that is protected, nor the manufacturing process, it’s the ornamental design of the “twin sticks”, side-by-side, offering more than one bar in a single package, that is patented.

The US design patent, USD575477S, titled Confectionery, was awarded on August 26, 2008 to a group of five inventors (one Austrian and four Dutch): Hugo Eitler, Bert Van Dijk, Jan Arts, Tineke Leijdens, and Nathalie Matysiak. A design patent that was subsequently assigned to Mars Inc., a multinational confectionary company that continues to produce Twix bars.

Below, the patent Figure 1 depicts a front perspective of the Twix bar design. The image of a marketed Twix bar pack is also included directly below the patent drawing.

Reference

Mars Inc.

https://www.mars.com/about

Friday, October 20, 2023

Uh Oh! Tesla Pickleball Robot

Reference
Wonder Dynamics

https://wonderdynamics.com/

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Oh, patents! Pickleballs

Made from plastic, resin, or polymer, measuring between 2.874 inches (7.3 cm) and 2.972 inches (7.54 cm) in diameter, pickleballs come in two different configurations: indoor and outdoor. Indoor pickleballs have 26 holes, averaging .43 inches in diameter. Outdoor pickleballs have 40 holes, averaging .282 inches in diameter.

According to pickleball experts, the number of pickleball holes has an impact on weight, resistance, and speed of the pickleball. Indeed, the wider indoor pickleball holes create less resistance to air, therefore indoor balls travel at a slower speed through the air, whereas the smaller outdoor pickleball holes offer more resistance to air, therefore increasing the speed of outdoor balls. As a result, indoor games are slower-paced than outdoor games.

The difference in the number of pickleball holes also creates a small 1% difference in the weight of the balls. In turn, this difference has an impact on how the ball bounces, and how it travels through the air. Heavier balls will bounce slightly higher than lighter balls.

The design of pickleball holes is patented. The US design patent, USD800236S1, titled Pickle Ball, was awarded on October 17, 2017.

Below, Figures 1 and 2, extracted from the patent, respectively depict front and side views of the pickleball. The solid lines, showing the holes, correspond to the ornamental design that is claimed. The broken lines illustrate other parts of the pickleball that are not part of the claimed invention design. An image of an outdoor pickleball with smaller holes, similar to the ones claimed in USD800236S1, is also included below.

References

Denahn, S. The fascinating reason why pickleballs have holes. The Skilled Pickle Blog.

https://www.theskilledpickle.com/blog/the-fascinating-reason-why-pickleballs-have-holes

Staff. Indoor vs Outdoor Pickleballs: 5 Major Differences. Paddletek Blog.
https://www.paddletek.com/blogs/news/indoor-vs-outdoor-pickleballs

Staff. Six differences between indoor and outdoor pickleballs. MyPickleballgear.com
https://mypickleballgear.com/blogs/pickleball-guide/6-differences-between-indoor-and-outdoor-pickleballs

Staff. (May 17, 2023). The difference between indoor and outdoor pickleballs. Pickleball University.

https://www.pickleballuniversity.com/home/the-difference-between-indoor-and-outdoor-pickleballs

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Terminology: IJBOL (EXPDR en français)

IJBOL pronounced “eej-bowl”, meaning “I just burst out laughing”, is an acronym that is currently spiking in social media. Recorded in the Urban Dictionary, already back in 2009, IJBOL is appearing everywhere as the revitalized Gen Z shorthand option for expressing virtual laughter. An expression that competes with LOL (laughing out loud, lots of laughs), ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), and LMAO (laughing my a** off, alternatively "let’s make an omelet" [lol]). IJBOL is a verbal option, also competing with the abundance of iconic expressions for digital laughter, found in “laughing” smiley-face emojis.

Note

En français (in French) IJBOL is abbreviated as EXPDR (exploser de rire), LOL stays as an import LOL, ROFL becomes MDR (mort de rire), meaning “to die of laughter”.

References

Bartiromo, M. (Aug. 18, 2023). What does the slang acronym IJBOL mean? KRON4.

https://www.kron4.com/news/what-does-the-slang-acronym-ijbol-mean/

Caldwell, S. (Aug. 17, 2023). Is 'IJBOL' the new 'LOL'? IDK!. Today.com

https://www.today.com/parents/teens/ijbol-meaning-rcna100402

Hebert, O. (Aug. 18, 2023). Gen-Z replaces LOL with new acronym IJBOL: What does it mean? The Independent.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gen-z-lol-acronym-ijbol-b2395031.html

Staff. (Aug, 10, 2023). Acronym IJBOL in Dictionary.com

https://www.dictionary.com/e/acronyms/ijbol/

Urban Dictionary – IJBOL

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=IJBOL

Urban Dictionary - LMAO