IP's Next Big Wave - Taste & Smell Patents

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IP's Next Big Wave - Taste & Smell Patents

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday October 6, 2004 @05:05PM from the I-believe-that-stink-is-mine dept.

Magnavox writes "Futurist Thomas Frey has written an article about Monday's Nobel Prize in medicine opening the door for taste & smell patents. Dr. Richard Axel and Dr. Linda B. Buck won the prize for scientifically describing how odor-sensing proteins in the nose translate specific tastes and smells into information in the brain. Patenting smells in the past was limited to describing the chemical composition of the substance. Receptor patterning opens the door for a variety of new patenting possibilities... Perhaps more important will be the decision as to whether smells can be trademarked as symbols of the products or services they represent. Sounds and colors are commonly trademarked today because of the commercial impression they leave on consumers. Smells cannot be far behind. Now I'm wondering if we can patent the smell of money."

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MICHAEL SIMS IS A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 17:10 · Score: -1, Redundant

I WANT A PATENT ON THE SMELL OF MY SHIT TRAVELLING DOWN MICHAEL SIMS' THROAT.

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1. Re:MICHAEL SIMS IS A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 18:09 · Score: -1, Redundant
  
  you should have stopped here :
  3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375 1058209749445923078164062862
  08998628034825342117 067982148086513282306647093844 6095505822317253594081284811
  17450284102701938521 105559644622948954930381964428 8109756659334461284756482337
  86783165271201909145 648566923460348610454326648213 3936072602491412737245870066
  06315588174881520920 962829254091715364367892590360 0113305305488204665213841469
  51941511609433057270 365759591953092186117381932611 7931051185480744623799627495
  67351885752724891227 938183011949129833673362440656 6430860213949463952247371907
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next time i releave gas.... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 17:10 · Score: -1, Redundant

you better get a patent if you eat limi beans and hot dogs, cuz that patent is mine!
Ridiculous by Neo-Rio-101 · 2004-10-06 17:18 · Score: -1, Redundant

This is absolutely ridiculous.

I mean, say I have a hot cookie, and the smell of that is patented by the cookie company.
Now, if I bake a cookie which smells like the patented cookie smell, could I be sued?

Furthermore, how do you prove that a smell infringes on a patented smell?

This is crazy. To me, this whole concept seems useless to society, but potential ammo to a company who can't innovate anything, but instead wants to strangle money out of people on some weird legal precedent.

I may as well patent my own body odour.

--
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
lp by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 18:00 · Score: -1, Redundant

last post
I've got dibs on the patent by ImTwoSlick · 2004-10-06 18:21 · Score: 0, Redundant

for the smell of Natalie Portman covered in hot grits.
Fast Food by unixbugs · 2004-10-06 18:24 · Score: -1, Redundant

I didnt RTFA, or any posts, so this is MY IDEA, got it?

Im going to patent the taste of "shit". This means:

1) I am going to sue ALL FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS for patent infringement.

--
You are about to give someone a piece of your mind, something which you can ill afford...
Re:Maybe I should patent the smell of gunpowder... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 18:26 · Score: -1, Redundant

OMFG!!!1 I thought that quote was from the Muppets go to the Moon!

Thanks for clearing that up Bull999999!

As an aside - were you hoping for a +1 Insightful or a -1 Offtopic with that post?
Re:What this really means... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-06 19:23 · Score: -1, Redundant

What does Ur-anus smell like?!