The Mouse Rug

It's kind of fun, when you notice something new on an old item. For example, take a look at something I just recently noticed about my Mouse Rug, a rug-style mouse pad that I received as a gift well over a decade ago. [This was, of course, at a time when more people used a computer mouse and unique mouse pads were still something. After all, some of us still relied on the mechanical model that had an actual ball (taking the ball out and then reassembling the mouse so your parents didn't notice was a great way to make them mad).] It now serves as a trivet, and when I was cleaning it after a spill at dinner, I noticed what it said on the back for the first time:

Underside of the tiny rug replica

That's right, patented worldwide! What a claim. And, as your friendly patent and trademark librarian, I had to find out if this claim was true.

Y'all. Y'ALL. They do have international patents... but it's not for the Mouse Rug®, it's for the technology used to stick the rug piece to the rubber base. Or, rather, the "Flocked transfer and article of manufacture including the flocked transfer", which just so happens to be used on the Mouse Rug (see the full patent).

I laughed a lot when I read this, because I was looking forward to finding some design patents or some kind of unusual utility patent for mouse pads. 

Evidently, there were a few patents granted for the similar technology, but not all were global.

It's Friday and this is just absurd enough that I can't even do a deeper investigation. 

A tiny rug for your computer mouse