Happy Birthday, Patented

Well, not literally. That's not patentable. But it's been far too long since my last post, and today is my birthday, so I thought it would be a good day for a themed post.

Happy birthday, to me.

So I of course performed a birthday cake-focused patent search. Let's take a look at a few of what I feel are the most interesting, most fun, or most notable inventions.

First up, US 11,808,276: Systems, method, and apparatus for blowing out birthday candles. This deserves the top spot not because it is very inventive, unusual, or even very useful. No, it earns that honor because someone managed to write a patent that convinced the USPTO to issue a new patent in 2023 for what is essentially a portable fan. I suspect this was born of someone's horror that the birthday girl gets to blow her germs all over a cake. Now, with this little fan, you can manually power, via spring (no battery or other electric mechanism seems to be included), a slightly cleaner blast of air. Hopefully no one inhaled and exhaled that particular bit of atmosphere.

Next is US 2,786,345, the Candle holder for birthday cakes, which are very fancy looking. I grew up in a family and era when most people just jabbed candles directly into a cake. Very occasionally, someone would use cheap plastic candle holders. But these are fit for an occasion, each capable of supporting multiple candles. If anyone would like to give me a belated gift, and also has a knack for finding potentially non-existent novelty items, this is perfect. 

These are nice.

US 7,931,402, Inflatable gift wrap in the shape of a cake, takes third. My search query [birthday NEAR (cake OR candle)] was intentionally geared towards the birthday cake tradition, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this one in the mix. Apparently the "icing" decorations are meant to be interchangeable, so it can serve many purposes and events. I can get behind a fun, reusable wrapping. Lately I've found myself extremely disappointed that we continue to use and immediately dispose of paper on gifts. Heck yeah, Daniel Oas! 

Neat!

This is me, meaning I'll always include a plant whenever possible. US PP16,158 comes in fourth, with xHeucherella plant named 'Birthday Cake'. Now, it's unfortunate, but the only color photo I could find was truly awful, so we can't get a good idea of its appearance. Nonetheless, from descriptions, it sounds delicious (!) with chocolate colored ruffled leaves and creamy white flowers like candles. 

This is a terrible photo and I'm sorry

Honorable mention goes to US 10,136,659, Chocolate wax composition for candles. And yes, it is edible. I love chocolate, I love cake, so why not have my cake and eat the candles too?

Oak Tree Patents and Patent Center

Did you know that among plant patents are included some very large trees? Once such tree is the mighty oak, many of whom were felled recently by Hurricane Beryl. I decided that made this a good time to check out some patented oaks, and also show how to access their color photos in Patent Center, since that is where all color photos of plant patents now reside.

And, with that, I must ask if you have a MyUSPTO account. It isn't necessary to have one to search Patent Center, but it does give you lots of other advantages, like a home page that you can customize to your interests, and a second option for viewing expanded entries in a trademark search, and if you want to apply for a patent or trademark pro se, it is kind of required.  [I am here, in part, to promote the services of the USPTO; so just deal with the occasional plug!]

A view of my homepage in MyUSPTO

However, as I have learned the hard way, you cannot easily download or view patent images in Patent Center with the wrong internet browser. For example, my default at the office, Firefox. 

And because I don't want to mislead anyone, it is not easy to search using Patent Center. You need to know some kind of concrete number information first, like a publication, patent, application, PCT, or international design registration number. So we have to start with either the University of Maryland Libraries Plant Patent Image Database (only up to a certain point), Patent Public Search, or something like Lens. 

...This is getting complicated. Let's just look at some pretty oak pictures. I'll link you to more info for each.

We're going to focus on live oaks, Quercus fusiformis, because those are one of the most abundant in Houston.  

First, the Texas live oak 'Joan Lionetti' PP27,646. It's a cultivar that clearly is meant for our state. Patented in 2017, it's possible growing around us already.

Texas live oaks are abundant on Rice's campus, I wonder if any are patented?

I also quite like the southern live oak named 'Canon-Sharp', PP19,608 but that may be due in part to the very proud plant parent in the official image. It's hard not to like a tree that has so clearly pleased someone they felt the need to pose with it for a patent.

This person felt it was necessary to pose with the tree, when it really isn't

A live oak named 'SDLN', PP12,015, (they really didn't feel the need to name it anything memorable) has a good growth pattern and very nice natural shape. Oaks are nice.

A very forgettable name but a nice tree nonetheless

The southern live oak named 'CLTF2', PP11,097, does not have as nice of a shape as 'SLDN' in my opinion. However, it does have more interesting leaves, so perhaps that's compensation.

Is it just me, or do you also think this one doesn't have as nice a shape?

There are many more oaks out there that have been patented, but I though a few live oaks was sufficient for one day.

Eclipsing the Sun and Moon on Earth

I could look up some IP for anything directly related to the solar eclipse, or maybe even a lunar eclipse, but I've already done that for a display (go look at it), so to keep things fresh, let's look at plant patents.

You know, for plants with lunar or solar eclipse, or just eclipse, in the name. 

That's relevant, right?

Whatever, plant patents are cool, and I feel like I don't get enough opportunities to include them. 

Let's start with the most relevant first:

Heucherella plant named 'Solar Eclipse', PP23,647. Presumably it is named because the pattern of variegation is a lighter green outline of the leaf with an inner darker red, like the corona of the sun showing around the edges of the moon.

It would be more accurate if the variegation was a much darker red

Baptista plant called 'Lunar Eclipse', PP25,875. I don't know exactly what part of this plant is meant to evoke a lunar eclipse, but maybe you can look at the picture and tell me. It's certainly a pretty plant.

What nice flowers.

Veronica plant named 'Total Eclipse', PP18,912. I selected this one as more relevant because we're about to have a total solar eclipse. Or at least some of us are, most of us will have to make do with looking at neat shadows.

Are you a Heather? No, I'm a Veronica.

After that, the other plants are mostly just named 'Eclipse' or some kind of color plus eclipse. I liked these the most:

Hosta plant named 'Eclipse', PP24,625. Like the above baptista, it also has pretty flowers, which I clearly seem to favor over simple leafy plants.

Wheeeeee more flowers

Saintpaulia plant named 'Eclipse', PP10,103. This one has fun floral variegation, which may mean the inspiration for its name is similar to the heucherella above.

The digital discoloration of this photo is why we used to receive paper copies

Blackberry plant named 'Eclipse', PP30,448. No idea where they got eclipse for this one, they're blackberries that look normal and so does the plant. Maybe there's a whole line of astronomical berries?

I love berry season, I should get some blackberries tomorrow

And those are the best eclipsing plant patents! If you're in the area on Monday, April 8th, visit Fondren's eclipse viewing event. I won't be able to make it--it's time for the annual PTRCP Training Seminar.

ChatGPT: Making Librarians Look Good Since 2022

Well, my mind hasn't changed: AI won't be coming for librarian jobs any time soon. Until someone builds and AI that is focused on data and research--instead of a language model like ChatGPT--replacing us is a laughable concept.

Some of my fellow PTRC representatives have been experimenting with ChatGPT since I last posted about my initial adventures in February. For those who may not recall, I found that the language model AI was unable to perform any sort of patent or trademark search, or provide specific data on patents or trademarks.

That has not changed over the past few months' updates. I tested again by asking for a specific patent number applied to the patented plant featured in my last post (Hibiscus 'Panama Red'). Again, ChatGPT was unable to give me a patent number.

ChatGPT still can't provide patent numbers

I decided to try the approach made by my fellow rep mentioned above, Stella Mittelbach of the Los Angeles Public Library Science, Technology & Patents Department. She requested Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) numbers that may be applied to an invention, and was provided with an extensive list of potential matches. I was curious about the quality of CPC numbers ChatGPT could provide.

In recent publications and casual conversations, I've learned that ChatGPT struggles to provide concrete data and references, sometimes producing "hallucinations", which is made-up information presented as factual. Furthermore, searching CPC numbers can be challenging, and narrowing down the candidates to a category that most closely matches an invention is comparable to the initial stages of a patent search. It surprised me that ChatGPT was capable of returning such specific information.

Thanks to teaching courses on searching for CPC numbers and using them to search for patents, I have become extremely familiar with a few groups and subgroups. I decided to ask ChatGPT to suggest CPC numbers for the hypothetical invention I typically use: a new contact lens material that makes it safe to sleep in them, that is an improved silicone hydrogel with higher oxygen permeability. I know two potential CPC numbers that could be applied to this invention, just based on that description.

These numbers are so wrong, don't bother looking too closely.

ChatGPT was off-base. It supplied numbers that were mostly unrelated, yet has some aspects that used similar terminology. I followed up with asking for the definition of the CPC number G02C 7/001, which I knew was for bifocal contact lenses. Again, ChatGPT failed to give accurate information.

It's also wrong

I corrected the AI.

My correction spurred it to give some better information

 

Second correction, with a suggestion

Then I asked where it was obtaining its information. It vaguely cited "general knowledge", which means nothing. CPC numbers are something I would classify as "specific knowledge", rarely known to any extent by the vast majority of the populace. I'd wager most people are unaware the CPC exists. 

ChatGPT seems unsure of its information sources

Since the AI is supposed to learn from interactions, I wanted to test if my corrections were somehow absorbed. I emailed PTRC colleagues a copy of the transcript, and requested someone else attempt my questions, and share the answers given.

Dave Bloom, Science and Engineering/PTRC Librarian of University of Wisconsin - Madison tried my initial prompts verbatim using multiple ChatGPT accounts and one for Google Bard, a few times each. He found each response was "noticeably different, not necessarily informed by the other answers, and, most importantly, not reliable."

A sample of Dave Bloom's interactions

 

Of course I tested this myself, on two subsequent days to see if that made a difference. 

Similar to Dave Bloom, I got multiple answers. When I submitted a correction, I was able to choose a "better" answer, but this is not an option that someone actually trying to find a CPC number using ChatGPT would have. Furthermore, the better answer is based on the specific feedback I provided. A different account might receive the wrong information, and not be able to correct it. OpenAI should program it to stick with an instructional response, which is never wrong.

The next day

Before I made a suggestion through the system

After my suggestion through the system

Over a couple of days, and especially when I provided feedback not in chat, but through the feedback form, there was some slight improvement.

On the second day...

the answers seemed slightly improved...

but are still inaccurate.

Dave Bloom later reminded me that when using a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT, "it's tempting to evaluate each individual response on the basis of accuracy. [...] It’s not about whether any individual answer is right or wrong or whether ChatGPT or Bard is better at generating “correct” answers, but that, even with the exact same prompt, LLMs do not produce the same results. Replicability is a baseline expectation of credible scientific research, and we should apply it to search tools, too." They don't provide reliable source responses, because their function is to produce answers that appear to be written by humans. Dave explained that this means the fake citations and URLs are therefore often very convincing.

So, even when ChatGPT can provide an answer, they're at high risk of being very bad answers. Librarians have dodged the bullet again!

I wasn't worried about you, buddy; my concern is decision makers who like to save money

The End of Paper Plant Patents

Apparently, we have received the last of the paper copies of plant patents.* While a part of me is sad--looking through pictures of new plants was always entertaining--I understand the reasons for it. Paper copy distribution is expensive, uses resources, and the copies take up space in depository libraries/PTRCs.

Loyal readers and fellow plant patent fans are likely asking, "But how will we see the important color images of patented plants?" After all, the images included in Patent Public Search and therefore all other patent search tools and databases are grayscale and low quality.

Fortunately, you can still find color images of plant patents using Patent Center.

Unfortunately, you have to know the number of the plant patent you want to see in advance, and it only goes as far back as about 2007. I've also found this works with some Internet browsers (Chrome) and not others (Firefox).

Here's a brief tutorial plus images for finding the color images we all crave.

1. Search for a patented plant in Patent Public Search (please see other entries or resources for help with that) or another tool of your choice.
2. Once you find the patented plant desired, post 2007ish, make a note of the patent number.
   
3. On the home page of the USPTO, hover your mouse cursor over the Find It Fast menu and then select Patent Center (first listing).
   
4. OPTIONAL: Log into Patent Center with your USPTO account. This is not necessary, but if you have one, why not? 
5. On the home page, select Patents # from the drop down menu next to the search bar.
   
   
6. Enter the patented plant number, complete with PP prefix, and click the search button (magnifying glass icon) or use the Enter key.
   
7. The patented plant's page will open to its Application Data. Using the menu on the left side, select Supplemental Content.
   
8. On that page there will be an option to download JPEGs and PDFs or just preview a PDF.
   
9. Voila! You have found color images of plant patents, and all future patented plants should be findable here, too.
   

So, while it isn't as fun as having stacks of new plants to look through, and the quality of a scanned photo is never as good as an original print, at least we have something.

 

*I say "apparently" because immediately following the official announcement that April 18th would be the last issue date, more paper copies were issued. Clarification should be forthcoming...

Malbec World Day

Apparently, April 17 is Malbec World Day, or "Día Mundial del Malbec," meaning "Malbec throughout the world". It was declared in 2011 to celebrate the date in 1853 when a French soil expert was commissioned by the president of Argentina to bring new vines to the country for viticulture. Malbec was one of these, and the wine made from its grapes eventually became somewhat synonymous with Argentina's wine.

There is a handful of intellectual property associated with Malbec. We're featuring patented Malbec grape plants.

Bodegas y Vinedos Nicolas Catena of Argentina owns five varieties, developed by the eponymous Nicolas Catena.

1. PP20,766, Grapevine named 'Catena Malbec Clone 17' 
2. PP20,859, Grapevine named 'Catena Malbec Clone 13'
3. PP20,860, Grapevine named 'Catena Malbec Clone 15'
4. PP21,285, Grapevine named 'Catena Malbec Clone 16'
5. PP21,537, Grapevine named 'Catena Malbec Clone 14'

 

Have a glass of Malbec, and toast the grapes of Argentina's most famous wine.

Patents of Love: Valentine's Day Post

Since tomorrow will be Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th, case you've forgotten), let's look at some Valentine's-themed patents. 

While searching for material, I found most patented inventions that directly mention or concern Valentine's Day are very boring--such as greeting card holders, or yet another heart-shaped candy container. Both of those concepts are just too common and over-used. Readers of this blog deserve more.

And, unfortunately, the inventor of the machine that first manufactured Sweethearts candy (those horrible chalky hearts inscribed with things like "BE MINE"; unimaginable quantities must be tossed out annually) did not ever seek a patent. Or, my search strategies were insufficient to find them. Given the failure to mention one in the brief history on their official webpage, I suspect it was not patented.

The aliens from Futurama are right

Again, there is unfortunately no patent for the Hershey Kisses® machine, according to my search results. Mr. Milton Hershey did obtain other patents, including one for a candy cutting machine in 1895.

You know what patents mention Valentine, Valentine's Day, or sweetheart a LOT? 

Plants. 

This is not terribly surprising--flowers are a common gift on Valentine's Day and on other occasions between lovers; particularly roses. Since plant patents are both interesting and attractive, here are a few notable examples of sweetheart and Valentine plants. Credit to University of Maryland Libraries' Plant Patent Image Database for all plant pictures. 

1. Viola plant named 'Sweetheart'. Invented by Robert Chapman. 

   

   PP28,353

   
   
2. Miniature rose plant named 'My Valentine'. Invented by R.S. Moore.

   

   PP3,935

   
   
3. Day lily plant named 'When My Sweetheart Returns'. Invented by Darrell A. Apps, assigned to Centerton Nursery, Inc.

   

   PP13,480

   
   
4. Anthurium plant named 'Valentine'. Invented by Marian Wincenty Osiecki, assigned to Oglesby Plants International, Inc.

   

   PP13,284

   
   
5. Hibiscus plant named 'My Valentine'. Invented by Kevin A. Hurd, assigned to Walters Gardens Inc.

   

   PP24,108