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Court Denies Smucker's PB&J Patent

Posted by Zonk on from the line-in-the-sand dept.

lbmouse writes "The AP is reporting that on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected an effort by the Jelly & Jam maker to patent its process for making pocket peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." While the company was only trying to patent the "crimping process" used to create a specific type of mass market sandwich, they had also "...asked Albie's Foods of Gaylord, Mich., to stop producing ready-made PB&J sandwiches for a school district".

2 of 388 comments (clear)

  1. What's next - patenting how Mom makes Hash Brown's by Hulkster · · Score: 5, Informative
    Maybe I can sue anyone who tries to use the technique my Mom uses for making Hash Browns?!?

    For those that don't RTFA, Smucker actually allready had a patent from 1995, but this rejection "involved two additional patents that Smucker was seeking to expand its original patent by protecting its method." I.e. they still have the original patent for their method of making a P&J sandwich, but "the company's original patent is being re-examined by the patent office."

    Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease

  2. Re:What's next - patenting how Mom makes Hash Brow by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, you're right.

    One major point on the patent was that, when making a PBJ, the J seeps through the bread. To solve that problem, Smuckers put PB on BOTH pieces of bread.

    And patented that!

    They got a patent on putting PB on both bread slices instead of just one!

    And we wonder how the one-click-order got patented!