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Tuesday, June 2. 2009
Patented, Yay!
Did you know that most pan makers recently were forced to increase their prices because their pan lids (covers?) have the handle on the upper side? The reason is that the maker of our recently purchased pan lid has patented the innovative “this side down” technique and is now busy collecting license fees from pan lid makers who didn't previously have this idea.
(Yeah, sorry, the picture is crap, I didn't pay enough for my mobile phone. But if you doubt me, please have a coffee at my house and admire this high-tech implement.)
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So who's the maker who started the stupid patent? Let us know so we can do our best to avoid them.
I assume (hope?) you're making up the back story to fit the picture. I read the picture as being two disconnected statements, one that the handle design (which apparently has some kind of mechanical sealing mechanism, that may very well be novel/patentable) is patented and that the bottom side goes down, since it's non-curved (though obvious).
Benjamin, you're of course correct. You can all sell the pan lids again that you hoarded in expectation of a big price raise. It's just that I don't think a lid like this needs usage instructions. I also don't know what's being patented here: lids with built-in adjustable air/steam vents have been known to me for at least 10 or 15 years and are not novel at all. Same for transparent lids and same for lids with a special multi-diameter rim: everything on that lid is not new to me at all. And then, obviously, they managed to print the PATENTED as title for their usage instructions...
In Poland invention needs to be innovative (http://definr.com/innovative) and no information about invention has to be published to get through patenting. I'm not sure but that should be on pair with European Union law.
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