Shape Blog

You may safely transport your banana with the Banana Guard, available here.

See U.S. Patent 6,612,440, entitled "Banana Protective Device."
Issued on September 2, 2003, to David B. Agulnick of Vancouver, BC.

Posted by John L. Welch at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

THE LEGO BRICK--IN THE BORDERZONE BETWEEN FORMS OF PROTECTION [105pp., pdf]
Master Thesis By Jenny Lundahl

This thesis is a case study on the attempts of the LEGO Group to achieve legal protection of the Basic LEGO Brick, i.e. the LEGO Group’s standard toy building brick with eight bosses on the upper surface. The objective is to illustrate the legal reasoning of different courts in a global perspective and find out how a company such as LEGO uses the courts and intellectual property rights for the purpose of attaining a certain desirable position on the market.
...

In the thesis the LEGO Brick will also serve as a subject matter for discussion about possible implications on overlapping intellectual property rights. As the LEGO Group has succeeded in protecting it with different intellectual property rights the LEGO Brick is the ideal subject matter for such a discussion.

Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Topic: Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG bracelets

Question: How can you protect them?

Answer #1: trademark applications based on 3D appearance

Serial Numbers: 76/644416 and 76/644417

Description of Mark: The mark consists of the appearance and three-dimensional design of a rubber wristband with the word LIVESTRONG impressed on the band.

Distinctiveness Limitation Statement: as to "the appearance and three- dimensional design of a wristband"

Registration/Serial Numbers: 76/977737, 3,052,284, 78/702767, 78/821024

Answer #3: trademark application covering yellow wristbands

Serial Numbers: 78/706554, 78/706562, 78/706563, 78/706568

Descriptions of Mark:

(1) The color(s) Yellow is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of the color yellow, which is used on bands. The matter shown in broken lines is not part of the mark;

(2) The color(s) Yellow is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a three-dimensional design of a band.

(3) The color(s) Yellow is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of the color yellow, which is used on bands.

Any other ways to protect them (comments are open)?

Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

My favorite watch. From Time by Design.

U.S. Design Patent D348,403
Title: Wristwatch
Inventor: James Sener
Issued: July 5, 1994

Can you tell what time it is?

Posted by John L. Welch at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Super Bowl Sunday officially ushered in the age of the 5-blade razor (if you missed the commercial, view some fusion flash here).

Seems like just yesterday the Mach3 was all the rage.

Three blades?  Man, that's so yesterday.

If you have trouble with that, imagine shaving with an earlier Gillette razor that had but one blade (granted, it had two edges).  That artifact resembles a rake more than it does a modern razor.

Posted by J. Matthew Buchanan at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by John L. Welch at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by John L. Welch at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)