Storm Warnings!

 Well, for some of us, last night was terrifying. I can say it was for me--I made the excellent decision to go to a native plant society meeting, left my house at 6pm, and made it to the meeting location shortly after 7. In other words, I spent an hour driving through the absolute worst non-hurricane storm I've ever seen, and honestly thought at times that I was in severe physical danger, given  the size of things I saw flying around. 

Don't want to be like me? Good idea! Let's look at some inventions that can keep us safe, and should have been involved in my decision making last night. 

1. Tornado Warning System, US 6,295,001. I actually didn't realize how local this patent was until after I'd downloaded it! Aside from focusing on not just Texas but Harris County, this was a system that probably relied too much on transient, personal technology. While pagers were once indispensable, by the time this was granted in 2001, they were on their way out. Also, it likely would have required people connect their pagers to the system or buy a pager specifically to use with it. It has some good structure and concepts, though, and isn't terribly unlike the Rice Alert system.

Yeah, I could have used this last night

2. Airborne weather radar system and radar display, US 7,109,913. This actually is meant for aircraft, so it is airborne in that regard, rather than a radar system that is independently airborne, which was my original assumption. I liked it more, conceptually, as a floating radar station than this practical aviation safety device, but aviation safety is more important.

A simple diagram of a technically complex invention

3. System and method for the detection of severe weather conditions, US 8,593,289. What I like about this invention is that it actually uses radio frequency to detect weather severity. It's both interesting and likely possible for more people to implement than many other detection systems. Tune your radio to 525 AM!

4. Short-term thunderstorm forecast and severe weather alert system and method, US 10,782,448. This is one of those patents that is less of an actual device, and more of a description of how to use specific devices to accomplish something. While most of it is outside my realm of expertise, I think it's a good example of how patents can be granted for innovative processes, not just physical "things".

5. Storm detection apparatus and method, US 11,194,075. Oh, this one looks like it was made for storm chasers. It is specifically meant to be mobile, and can be mounted on "varied mobile platforms". However, it does allow for creating data quickly and sending via cloud technology. If you're interested in how tech is changing life across the board, it might be worth a read.

Stay safe out there...

Anyway, heed weather warnings and check the radar frequently. I really could have avoided a harrowing drive.

But nothing can keep this cute native flower down! Two new blooms this morning, after such a huge storm.

Yeah I used my trash bin for the background, it was the only solid black thing I had

The Perils of Patenting Playthings

It's a popular pastime, popping the perpetual pockets on a pop-it. But it also represents the perils of patenting playthings. (I do enjoy alliterations, but I'll cop to going overboard there.) If ever you have a truly innovative idea that is fairly simple and easily copied, investing in some kind of IP protection really is beneficial.

During the spring finals study break, Fondren Library gave students stress relief goodie bags. One of the items some included was a "pop it" sensory toy. It consists of a sheet of silicone molded with indentations that can be infinitely "popped", because they're pressed down, inverting repeatedly. Some, like the one I nabbed, make a satisfying little pip sound. 

A pop it, being modeled by my very grumpy kitty

I wondered aloud if the pop it was patented, because if so, I'd love to add it to my collection of toys I use to teach patent searching. Multiple people immediately responded that they were sure it was.

Now, if you are a faithful reader, you might recall I have had doubts about whether or not a product was patented before. I suspect that because most people don't know how challenging--in terms of cost and processing time--it can be to obtain a patent, that they simply assume most products and inventions have one.

My doubts, however, were valid this time. After a fair bit of searching, I was unable to find any patents that matched the basic pop it concept predating its sudden popularity. And even those found were generally design patents or utility patents stuck in the application phase.

I did some general internet searching next, thinking I might be able to find a manufacturer or some kind of company name to use in a more defined search. However, I learned their history went back further than I expected, and was a sad tale of what happens when people fail to protect their IP.

Evidently, the pop it concept originated with a couple in the 1970s, who is most famous for creating the game Guess Who? Since this was before the silicone used for today's pop its was available, the original versions were less than perfect and never put on the market. When it was finally manufactured for sales, pop it didn't meet with much success. I don't want to paraphrase the full article here, so if you'd like to know the full story behind the concept and its original intended play, please visit that.

My main point is that when it was (utility) patent eligible, the inventors did not pursue any IP protection. Now that it has existed for decades, and is suddenly in high demand, it is no longer patentable. It can be hard to predict the market success of an invention. Sometimes, the concept won't be appreciated by current audiences, and the expense of a patent may not pay off. Nonetheless, if they had patented the original concept and then sought a new patent when a better material was available (I'd argue that the different kind of plastic used to make it would be different enough to potentially qualify), their company and family might have made an enormous fortune. Now, it's too late.

Yet according to the linked article above, the inventors are not upset about missing the riches. They are happy to see their invention find its way into so many hands.

Secret Agent: IP Never Dies

Recently, as I was running an errand before work, I happened to notice an establishment called the 007 Barbershop.

Now, aside from thinking about some of the silliness that is related to giving men's salons names that evoke a certain kind of "manliness", I started to think about... the IP. Yes, it is everywhere, did you not see that blog post/dare? The barbershop in question was using a logo that was purposefully similar to the James Bond 007 logo. While slight alterations were made--scissors instead of a gun, etc.--it was still clearly styled after another highly recognizable IP.

This got me thinking. Would it be possible to register this logo or business name as a trademark at any level? How similar are they? Would the contexts be dissimilar enough to successfully claim distinctiveness and avoid likelihood of confusion?

It's hard to say; let's investigate some IP and see what we might determine. I happen to already know a fair bit about James Bone-franchise related IP (what did I say about the occupational hazard?), but here's a brief review of certain properties and ownership for those who may not have that familiarity. 

First of all, most of the James Bond (regarding the British spy originally conceived of and written by Ian Fleming) now belongs to Danjaq S.A., a Swiss corporation (it has holdings in the US as Danjaq LLC). [I am uncertain how the rights have migrated from probably copyrights for novels belonging to Fleming and (likely) his publishers to a Swiss corporation, but it happened, and that's not our focus today.]

Many of the trademark registrations that are related to the James Bond franchise are therefore international extensions from original Swiss filings. And, apparently, the Swiss are much happier to let corporations clump together many different classes of goods and services under one registration. 

One of the registered marks for a James Bond concept

Among the most recognizable properties is the 007 logo, with and without words, each separately registered. Both have a slew of associated goods AND services (really! they're technically both a service mark and trademark at once), including not only the obvious movie entertainment. The logo without words, registration no. 1739332, includes classes 003, 009, 014, 016, 018, 025, 028, 041. The same eight classes are included for the logo including words (James Bond), registration no. 1737876.

Logo with words, in case you forgot who 007 is

Of course, this is just one set of manifestations of the 007 logo. Several more are registered with a similar number of goods and classes. 

Familiar with the gun barrel sequence? If you've been exposed to any James Bond, you likely are. While I didn't find any motion picture marks, as in registrations for the exact sequence that precedes all Bond movies, I did find a couple registrations for the image of the gun barrel sans blood and Bond. Among them are registration nos. 4671991 and 4190845, which both claim motion picture/DVD/movie recordings as either entertainment or product, and one claims a couple other properties like shirts and fragrances. Again, there are more registrations for that same symbol.

Yep, this is trademarked

Quite a few registrations are listed for titles of Bond films. "But Hannah," I know you're saying, "aren't these movies productions from United Artists? Wouldn't they own the rights?" And you are partially correct--UA is the production company behind the James Bond movies. You may also know that I frequently say IP is very complex and one property may seem to be more than one type. This is especially true when it comes to mega-billion, long-running franchises like James Bond. UA's properties mostly reside in the realm of copyright. Without getting too far into that--really, this is about evaluating the ability to register the name of a salon I saw, not just nerding out over James Bond IP!--suffice it to say that a basic search revealed both Danjaq and UA on a LOT of Bond copyrights. 

A movie title mark, registration no. 3686854

The movie title trademarks are for goods and services that are marketed under those names, not for the movies themselves. So quite a few toys, items of apparel, etc. are all marketed using the titles as a mark, not the creative work.

A lot of familiar phrases and concepts are registered, too. For example, "shaken, not stirred" appears a few times.

This one is dead, though

I also was pleased to find the James Bond theme music registered, no. 4065012. I do so enjoy sensory marks! Visit the link, and the click on the Documents tag, and select any item that is an MP4 to view a movie clip, theatrical trailer, or DVD intro scene, all complete with the theme music. I've watched a few today.

Given what I reviewed, I would be reluctant to register the barbershop's name and logo. While I certainly would not confuse it as being one of Danjaq's holdings, that's in no small part because I have so much familiarity with the relevant IP. Might someone else mistake it? Or would Danjaq just take them to court? It's hard to say, but with some of the Danjaq registrations including beauty/styling products, there just too much similarity for it to easily pass.

 

BONUS! For everyone who follows the Instagram Library Cat, here's a fact that isn't shared in those posts: her name is Jimmi Bond, because she wears a tuxedo just like the British secret agent. And I was also originally informed she was a male cat, and called her James Bond for a few minutes before deciding that such a pathetic little scrap of kitten was more of a Jimmy Bond... and then changed the spelling when I got close enough to see she was female.

The famous Library Cat, Jimmi Bond