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| Lucky Star - Industry News |
| U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ISSUES 700,000TH DESIGN PATENT TO LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES | The following article is based on a press release issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 27, 2014.
 March 27, 2014 | The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced yesterday the issuance of its 700,000th design patent to LeapFrog Enterprises for the California-based toy company’s “Hand-Held Learning Apparatus.” The patent was issued to Jason Avery, LeapFrog’s lead toy designer, during a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at Langdon Education Campus in Washington, DC.
“Design patents play a critical role in ensuring that America’s intellectual property system continues to be a catalyst for American companies and entrepreneurs to innovate,” said Michelle Lee, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO. “The design area has increased from 25,500 applications in 2009 to just over 35,000 filings in 2013.”
“Protecting and promoting our idea-driven economy is essential to keeping America open for business,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “The USPTO plays a major role in serving our nation’s innovators by granting them the intellectual property rights they need to secure investment capital, build companies and bring their products and services to the global marketplace.”
“For nearly 20 years, LeapFrog has been a leader in life-changing educational entertainment experiences through innovation-forward solutions such as LeapsterGS™ and we are honored to have our device issued the 700,000th design patent,” said John Barbour, chief executive officer at LeapFrog. “The inventor of the LeapsterGS design, Jason Avery, has been with our company for nearly a decade and is a great example of the incredible talent of our team.”
A design patent is directed to the visual ornamental characteristics embodied in, or applied to, an article of manufacture. Since a design is manifested in appearance, the subject matter of a design patent application may relate to the configuration or shape of an article, to the surface ornamentation applied to an article, or to the combination of configuration and surface ornamentation. The current most active areas for filings include design applications for recording, communication or information retrieval equipment. Applications in this area will cover designs of computer equipment, cell phones and other handheld electronic devices such as the LeapFrog Design Patent 700,000. Additional information on design patents can be found on the USPTO website.
About Design Patent Number 700,000
The LeapsterGS™ delivers more than 40 different learning and play experiences for children ages four to nine, and features a hi-res finger-touch screen, and Flash and 3D graphics. The device is ergonomically designed with small children in mind, yet is simple, with bold and fun design features. It stores information about a child’s progress and adjusts game and activity challenges in real-time, for learning adventures that keep kids going on their own path, at their own pace. And select titles also let players customize the curriculum, selecting their own spelling words or mathematics skill sets to load into games, effectively “doing their homework” as they play.
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