Patents Issued the Week of June 24-28

6.28.24

Patent Protection & Registration

Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. Utility and plant patents can last up to 20 years, while design patents can last up to 15 years. When a patent expires, the patented material enters the public domain, making it free to use by anyone without a license. U.S. patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

U.S. Patent No. 12,017,426 entitled “Processing Method for Inserting Electronic Devices that are Suitable for Communicating in Radio Frequency Into Respective Rubber Sleeves” issued June 25, 2024 to Bridgestone Europe NV/SA of Zaventem, Belgium. Abstract: Processing method for inserting electronic devices that are suitable for communicating in radio frequency into respective rubber sleeves (5); are provided: a conveyor (9) for advancing a first rubber belt (10) arranged along an insertion path; a first feed device (12) for placing the transponder (1) upon an upper surface of the first rubber belt (10); a second feed device (13) for placing upon the upper surface of the first rubber belt (10) and upon each previously placed transponder (1) a corresponding sheet of green rubber (14) that completely covers the transponder (1); and a cutting device (16) arranged downstream of the second feed device (13) along the direction of travel of the first rubber belt (10) for cutting out at least the first rubber belt (10) by performing a cut of a rectangular shape around each transponder (1) in order to separate each sleeve (5) from the rubber belt.