Halloween Inventions & Brands w/J.D. Houvener and Matt Kulseth

10/26/22 • 31 min

J.D. and Matt talked about some recent innovations in halloween decorations including motion sensors, fog, costumes, as well as licensing issues that can come up for resellers of licensed merchandise and the like.
Then JD and Matt took a bold bite of a shark tank episode featuring "Pandaloon" which is a costume for pets, and it looks like the pet is walking. Matt was quick to mention that they did a great job registering their word mark, and even showed off their trade dress registration.
However, J.D. gave a harsh critique for only having gotten design patent protection on just one specific type of costume (for pandas) which leaves no protection for the several other designs she showcased (bunny, cat, kangaroo, etc.). In addition, JD cited a recent public federal court proceeding where Pandaloon was being sued by another patent holder. IT seems the owner of Pandaloon fell into the trap of thinking that by getting a patent, she was free to sell it on the market. But, there was a prior patent holder that covered pet costumes in general, and her product was infringing the much broader utility patent held by another company. A patent only give an inventor the right to prevent others from making/using/selling their claimed invention.

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Everything discussed on this podcast is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.

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Previous Episode

USPTO Patent and Trademark Office Action Rejections and Objections!

J.D. and Matt talk patent and trademark office actions! J.D. talked through a flowchart showing the various steps that a typical utility patent application takes and how 2-3 office actions is fairly typical. Matt talked about the trademark office action process a bit and explained some key differences there.
The team took a Bold Bite out of a Shark Tank episode from GeoOrbital an electric bike add-on for the front wheel. J.D. was a harsh critic and busted their statement that they have a "patented product", where J.D. showed off that they actually have an Abandoned patent that never responded to a USPTO office action back in 2017. J.D. showed just what the rejection said and the reasons for it on the novelty and obviousness front and some of the grounds for rejections.
Matt showed the registration for GeoOrbital and the 2+ year path it took for them to get their trademark granted.

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Next Episode

Bold Patents Client Dr. P shares his Sleep Muus Product and Invention Journey

J.D. and Matt speak with Bold Patents client, Dr. Patrick Silva (he goes by Dr. P) the inventor of the Sleep Muus pillow. Patrick talks about his invention story, and how he couldn't find the right pillow to supplement his spinal medical care he gives as a chiropractor, and so he was forced to create it! Dr. P also shares with the audience his struggles in multiple Kickstarters, having to juggle several manufacturers and a failed run with his first version.
J.D .and Matt took a Bold Bite out of pillow-software inventor "Pluto", and provided a legal analysis and critique of a shark tank episode they were on. J.D. suggested that they should have got a patent on a physical product, as it would serve their enforcement better than getting a method/software patent (which is what they did).

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