a touchy feely lamp

 

Introducing a lamp that makes you to feel a bond with others.

▲ kickstarter.com

Lucon

A connected lamp kit for connecting people

Keeping distance has become a routine in the effect of COVID-19. It is not easy to maintain a stable life emotionally because you are isolated by others. In the past year, self-harm attempts and depression patients also increased. What if someone heartily agrees that you are holding up well? We still have to work alone and rest alone, but could feel like being comforted.

▲ kickstarter.com

This idea product is a lamp designed to feel a bond with others. However, you cannot see the other person's face or hear their voice, and you can share your heart with a gesture that looks like holding a lamp with your hand. Anonymity is guaranteed because the signal is transmitted only by the light and touch of the lamp.

▲ kickstarter.com

The lamp is a DIY kit type product that is easily assembled. It is motivated by a scene where people are putting their hands on each other. It responds to touch and communicates with other lamps over the network.

▲ kickstarter.com

First of all, tapping the lamp lightly turns the light on or off. Holding it for a few seconds sends a signal to another lamp through the network, and the lamp's light fades. All lamps will flash when connected to other lamps. At this point, if someone touches their lamps, the light of all lamps becomes stronger.

You can see if other people have reacted by the change of light. Although reality is isolated, it can give you a sense of security as if you belong to a community.

▲ kickstarter.com

There are various modes so you can use it like a mood light. We may be in a bitter situation that you should be alone, but it is an idea product in the Corona era.

 

Panela manufacturing method from hundreds of years ago, patent registered?

 

Sugarcane concentrate containing policosanol,

Jorge Gonzalez Ulloa, a Colombian sugar-making businessman, filed for the trademark ‘Polycane’ in the United States in June 2020. This trademark was intended to sell sugarcane juice concentrate. Gonzalez said the "policosanol" of sugar cane can lower cholesterol at a lower cost than pharmaceuticals. The method for efficiently extracting this component has also been patented and was scheduled to proceed.

▲ intomark.com
the trademark search tool of WIPS Co.,Ltd

The policosanol extraction method described in the patent is hundreds of years old?

The patent registered by Gonzalez is a sugar cane treatment system and method that maximizes the preservation of policosanol during the producing of safe drinkable cholesterol reduction products. Its patent describes a process for stably extracting the undiluted solution from sugar cane itself. It is said that policosanol can be produced naturally rather than artificially in this way. However, a big controversy on the patent occurred in Colombia. This is because the method described in the patent was no different from the Panela manufacturing method.

▲ wipsglobal.com
US patent 10632167

Panela, a traditional food of Latin America,

'Panela' is unrefined sugar made by boiling sugarcane juice. Panela, mainly produced in Latin American countries, is a traditional food hundreds of years ago. In particular, Colombia, which began to produce panela by Spanish conquerors in the 16th century, is famous country of panela production. So the news of Gonzalez's patent caused a lot of controversy, especially in Colombia. Panela producers of Colombia said that Gonzalez had filed a patent to intercept the Panela market, so they’ll pursue a patent invalidation lawsuit because Panela is everyone's property.

▲ clipartkorea.co.kr

How was the Panela manufacturing method registered?

Experts are absurd about the fact that the patent filed by Gonzalez has been registered. It is the U.S. Patent Office’s fault that patents were registered even though there are many records related to conventionally producing panela. Polk Wagner, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said “This speaks to one of the weakness of patent examination practices”. Examiners are good at finding references to existing technologies when they are published in the United States, “but less so in foreign countries, in particular where the language is different.”

This case has made it widely known that there is a problem with the practice of US patent examination. We’ll have to wait and see how the patent examination will be going.

Digital tattoo, you write and erase yourself

 

Introducing a disposable tattoo device using digital printing.

▲ prinker.co.kr

1-Day Tattoo Device

Tattoos are a way to freely express yourself, but it’s difficult to erase or edit. Prinker S is a disposable tattoo device that you can write and erase as you want. It uses ink made from cosmetic ingredients, so it is hard to remove from water or sweat but can be removed with soap or makeup remover.

▲ prinker.co.kr

When tattooing, a user can select an image or text in the mobile app and move the device as they want on the skin. It's good news for those who haven't tried a regular tattoo because they're bored or no longer satisfied as the skin getting aged. It’ll be interesting to those who felt frustrated by the limitations of styling caused by the mask.

▲ prinker.co.kr

In addition, you can freely choose from more than 5000 designs, and you can even draw your own. Recently, a love theme has also been added for the upcoming Valentine's Day.

▲ prinker.co.kr

▲ prinker.co.kr

In fact, Prinker Korea won the grand prize at the Intellectual Property Startup Competition hosted by the Intellectual Property Office in October last year. It has applied for 19 patents, and the representative patent is 'Skin Printer', which has been applied in Korea, USA, Japan, EP and PCT.

▲ wipsglobal.co.kr
(KR 10-1865665)

There are other patents that apply the idea. It's a 'portable hair printer', and if you look at the drawing, it looks similar to a regular hair styling machine. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can do disposable tattoos on my hair.

▲ wipsglobal.co.kr
(KR 10-1985396)

Korean franchise, Sulbing filed the trademark infringement lawsuit against Chinese company

 

'Sulbing', a successful Korean franchise company,

Korea's Sulbing is a representative dessert cafe brand that has become known as Korean desserts both domestically and overseas. Starting in Busan, Korea in 2013, it has surpassed 490 franchisees within a year. Afterwards, they began to look abroad with the slogan that the most Korean is the most global. Sulbing succeeded in entering into Thailand, Japan, Kuwait, and Canada, starting with China in 2015.

▲ sulbing.com

Sulbing's master franchise (MF) and litigation with partners,

Sulbing entered overseas through a master franchise method that sells business rights by contracts with local partners, rather than by direct entry into overseas markets. When entering China, the business was carried out by signing a contract with Shanghai Yabin Food (上海雅滨食品), a local partner. However, in China, a fake Sulbing brand called ‘Sulbing Element’ (雪冰元素, XUEBING YUANSU) first filed for a trademark and was doing business. When Shanghai Yabin Foods couldn’t make the business properly in China, they filed a lawsuit demanding Sulbing to terminate the contract and return the down payment (contract fee). Shanghai Yabin Food won at the Supreme Court and Sulbing returned the down payment.

▲ sulbing.com

Sulbing's lawsuit to regain the trademark,

Sulbing filed a trademark invalidation trial against Sulbing Element. After half a year hearing, the Trademark Appeal Board (of the State Administration of Industry & Commerce of the People’s Republic of China) raised the hand of South Korea's Sulbing, saying that the trademark of Sulbing Element was invalid. The Trademark Appeal Board judged that Chinese companies had disturbed the trademark registration order and harmed the fair competition order. Sulbing, who has been suffering from fake companies and has not even been able to enter China, is planning to explore the market in the future.

▲ intomark.com
(trademark database of WIPS)
trademark of Suling Element of China

Can Korea get other brands back?

Experts say the decision on Sulbing case gave a glimpse of China's commitment to trademark law. Seong-won Yoo, a renowned patent attorney for Chinese trademark lawsuits, said “the ruling of this case demonstrates China’s determination that trademarks filed for the purpose of infringing on the legitimate rights of others and unfair competition should be regulated by unifying Article 44 of the Chinese Trademark law.

The Chinese company, which had the trademark right of Sulbing Element, also owned trademarks of other Korean brands such as Innisfree, Go Bong-min Kimbab, and KimGane. Hopefully that Korean trademarks that were stolen will be able to return to their real owners.

Apple and Prepear's trademark lawsuit

 

Prepear, that helps you make safe food,

Prepear is a small startup company in Utah, USA. They started with a blog that provides kids with recipes for making healthy food. After that, they created an app with a function that you can immediately purchase the groceries needed for cooking. The name "prepear" was created by combining cook (prepare) and a fruit, pear, and the logo was also created after the shape of a pear.

▲ prepear.com

Apple's logo trademark infringement lawsuit,

In March of last year, Apple filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Prepear, claiming that the logo is similar. Apple argued that Prepear is taking unfair advantage by making the logo similar, which undermines Apple's brand image. Prepear and Apple's logos consist of a fruit with a leaf designs. There are differences in the shape of apples and pears, but Apple has determined Prepear’s one doesn’t have a special personality and causes confusion.

▲ uspto.gov

How to deal with the Apple,

Prepear had to pay thousands of dollars in filing a lawsuit against Apple, but it was too big for a small company. While looking for a solution to protect the logo, Prepear posted their stories on the global petition site Change.org, and 10,000 people responded less than a week after posting. Public opinion on Apple became more and more negative. Since then, the petition has spread all over the world with more than 260,000 signatures to date.

▲ change.org

Public opinion, design and Apple's choice?

In December of last year, Apple asked the Trademark Trials and Appeals Committee to suspend the proceedings for 30 days. When critical public opinion prevailed over the lawsuit, Apple stopped to reach an agreement. If no agreement within 30 days, the trial automatically resumes on January 23. 

▲ uspto.gov

As this lawsuit becomes an issue, there’s keen interest on whether it will affect Apple's image and how Apple will proceed with this lawsuit.