German patent application DE 10349934A1, filed by inventor Johanna Gabriel on October 23, 2003, presents us with a ” Schmuckstück “, as its concise title indicates. To the great surprise of the examiners at the German Patent Office (DPMA), the piece of jewelry and the method of making it described in this patent application concern a necklace of painted and varnished pasta.
Did you know?
Recipes are not patentable. There are other ways of protecting your culinary creations to prevent counterfeiting. To be certain that an invention is patentable, a personalized patentability study can be carried out by an Industrial Property attorney.
“Schmuckstück” patent application “al dente”.
The patent application describes a piece of jewelry made from pasta (“uncooked”) coated with various non-toxic protective agents, such as layers of paint, varnish and lacquer.
This patent application was rejected by the office in accordance with German patent law. However, even if the inventor did not obtain a patent for her invention, she was still able to apply for and acquire another title on the basis of this patent: a “Gebrauchsmuster” or German utility model.
The Gebrauchsmuster examination is less formal than that for patents: the office only verifies that the invention is a technical one, without examining the invention’s novelty, inventive step or industrial application.
Johana Gabriel’s DE20316497 (U1) title in pasta jewelry has been extended for a further 6 years. Much to the delight of fans of unusual stories.
