Misplaced Pages

#861138

58-580: John and Bernice Korelc opened a Dari-Delight restaurant in 1960 at the present day location of the Launching Pad. The proprietors bought a 438-pound fiberglass Muffler Man figure for $ 3,500 at the annual National Restaurant Association convention. Seeking to capitalize on America's fascination with the Space Race , they rebranded the restaurant as the "Launching Pad" and had the statue outfitted as an astronaut with helmet and rocket. A naming contest

116-556: A Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant of $ 456,047 on May 19, 2021. Efforts to sell the shuttered Launching Pad restaurant and the Gemini Giant were derailed in early January 2024 The Gemini Giant was auctioned off on March 20, 2024. The winning bid was $ 275,000. A City of Wilmington press release announced the winning bid was made by the Joliet Area Historical Museum utilizing a state grant, and that

174-642: A Uniroyal gal in a skirt or bikini were among the many variants. Thousands of the oversize figures would be deployed in a little over a decade at a typical cost of $ 1000–$ 2800 each. Some would be customised as promotions of individual roadside businesses on the US Highway system. Many were created to advertise franchise and chain brands, such as the Enco and Humble tigers and the Philips Petroleum cowboys . A novelty fibreglass dinosaur figure

232-485: A licensed attorney; a patent attorney is a person who has passed both a state bar and the patent bar and is in good standing as an attorney. A patent agent can only act in a representative capacity in patent matters presented to the USPTO, and may not represent a patent holder or applicant in a court of law. To be eligible for taking the patent bar exam, a candidate must possess a degree in "engineering or physical science or

290-412: A means for independent businesses to differentiate themselves in an era before two-lane highways were bypassed by freeways; businesses located directly on the main road would rely heavily on neon signage , promotional displays, and gimmicks to make themselves more visible to passing motorists. Increases in costs to deliver the lightweight but oversized figures proved problematic and business declined with

348-896: A number of states across the United States with some also in Canada. At least four remain on U.S. Route 66 , including Chicken Boy and Gemini Giant . Muffler Men have made appearances as characters in the comic strip " Zippy the Pinhead " by Bill Griffith , often in conversation with Zippy. Two books have been devoted to the distinctive roadside figures and the July 2012 issue of AAA New Mexico Journey devoted its front cover to their 50th anniversary. Boatbuilder Steve Dashew established International Fiberglass in 1963 by purchasing and renaming Bob Prewitt's workshop, Prewitt Fiberglass. The oversized fiberglass men, women, and dinosaurs began as

406-476: A patent application and prosecute it on his or her own behalf ( pro se ). If it appears to a patent examiner that an inventor filing a pro se application is not familiar with the proper procedures of the Patent Office, the examiner may suggest that the filing party obtain representation by a registered patent attorney or patent agent. The patent examiner cannot recommend a specific attorney or agent, but

464-722: A patent case. Under the America Invents Act , the BPAI was converted to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or "PTAB". Similarly, decisions of trademark examiners may be appealed to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board , with subsequent appeals directed to the Federal Circuit, or a civil action may also be brought. In recent years, the USPTO has seen increasing delays between when a patent application

522-499: A permanent end to fee diversion. The discussion of which party can appropriate the fees is more than a financial question. Patent fees represent a policy lever that influences both the number of applications submitted to the office as well as their quality. The USPTO examines applications for trademark registration, which can be filed under five different filing bases: use in commerce, intent to use, foreign application, foreign registration, or international registration. If approved,

580-573: A sideline. The first of the figures, a Paul Bunyan holding an oversized axe to promote a restaurant, was created by Bob Prewitt in 1962 for the Lumberjack Café on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona . Bill Swan who worked for Prewitt helped to design the face of the first Paul Bunyan Muffler man As the fiberglass molds for this initial figure existed when Dashew acquired the company, similar characters could be readily created by keeping

638-406: A slowdown in new application filings since the onset of the late-2000s economic crisis , and projections of substantial declines in maintenance fees in coming years, the agency imposed a hiring freeze in early March 2009. In 2006, USPTO instituted a new training program for patent examiners called the "Patent Training Academy". It is an eight-month program designed to teach new patent examiners

SECTION 10

#1732791001862

696-416: Is also skill required when searching for prior art that is used to support the application and to prevent applying for a patent for something that may be unpatentable. A patent examiner will make special efforts to help pro se inventors understand the process but the failure to adequately understand or respond to an Office action from the USPTO can endanger the inventor's rights, and may lead to abandonment of

754-492: Is filed and when it issues. To address its workload challenges, the USPTO has undertaken an aggressive program of hiring and recruitment. The USPTO hired 1,193 new patent examiners in Fiscal Year 2006 (year ending September 30, 2006), 1,215 new examiners in fiscal 2007, and 1,211 in fiscal year 2008. The USPTO expected to continue hiring patent examiners at a rate of approximately 1,200 per year through 2012; however, due to

812-557: Is like a business in that it receives requests for services—applications for patents and trademark registrations—and charges fees projected to cover the cost of performing the services [it] provide[s]". The Office is headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, currently held by Kathi Vidal as of April 19, 2022. Andrei Iancu

870-415: Is particularly true in the fast-growing area of business method patents . As of 2005, patent examiners in the business method area were still examining patent applications filed in 2001. The delay was attributed by spokesmen for the Patent Office to a combination of a sudden increase in business method patent filings after the 1998 State Street Bank decision , the unfamiliarity of patent examiners with

928-412: The 1973 oil crisis . International Fiberglass was sold and closed permanently in 1976. Many of the characters, such as a Texaco Big Friend, initially created for a cancelled service station chain promotion, would become rare after International Fiberglass ceased operations. United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ) is an agency in

986-740: The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences , an administrative law body of the USPTO. Decisions of the BPAI could further be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit , or a civil suit could be brought against the Commissioner of Patents in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia . The United States Supreme Court may ultimately decide on

1044-804: The Patent Cooperation Treaty . The legal basis for the United States patent system is the Copyright Clause in Section 8 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution , which gives Congress the power to grant patents and copyrights on a national basis. Trademark law, on the other hand, is considered to be authorized by the Commerce Clause . The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors

1102-561: The U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia , after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington , Virginia . The USPTO is "unique among federal agencies because it operates solely on fees collected by its users, and not on taxpayer dollars". Its "operating structure

1160-951: The budget sequestration , the satellite office for Silicon Valley, which is home to one of the nation's top patent-producing cities, was put on hold. However, renovation and infrastructure updates continued after the sequestration, and the Silicon Valley location opened in the San Jose City Hall in 2015. As of September 30, 2009 , the end of the U.S. government's fiscal year, the PTO had 9,716 employees, nearly all of whom are based at its five-building headquarters complex in Alexandria. Of those, 6,242 were patent examiners (almost all of whom were assigned to examine utility patents ; only 99 were assigned to examine design patents ) and 388 were trademark examining attorneys ;

1218-471: The wordmark "Launching Pad" in use for a retail gift shop, museum and welcome center, and restaurant services, was filed in 2018. The application was abandoned in Summer 2023, again due to a failure to submit a statement of use. Muffler Man Muffler men are large molded fiberglass sculptures that are placed as advertising icons, roadside attractions, or for decorative purposes, predominantly in

SECTION 20

#1732791001862

1276-520: The 2009 National Trademark Expo, the Trademark Office designed and launched a kid-friendly trademark mascot known as T. Markey, who appears as an anthropomorphized registered trademark symbol. T. Markey is featured prominently on the Kids section of the USPTO website, alongside fellow IP mascots Ms. Pat Pending (with her robot cat GeaRS) and Mark Trademan. In 2020, trademark applications marked

1334-647: The Alexandria Campus, consisting of 11 buildings in a city-like development surrounded by ground floor retail and high rise residential buildings between the Metro stations of King Street station (the main search building is two blocks due south of the King Street station) and Eisenhower Avenue station where the actual Alexandria Campus is located between Duke Street (on the North) to Eisenhower Avenue (on

1392-593: The Commissioner for Patents oversaw three main bodies, headed by the former Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, Peggy Focarino, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, which was held by Andrew Hirshfeld up until 2015, and finally the Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning, which was vacant at that time. The Patent Operations of the office is divided into nine different technology centers that deal with various arts. Prior to 2012, decisions of patent examiners could be appealed to

1450-532: The Gemini Giant LLC for a combined $ 300,000. The business was forced to close as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The Launching Pad Restaurant received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $ 31,868 to maintain 25 reported jobs on May 6, 2020. They received a second round loan of $ 44,615 on March 10, 2021, this time reporting only six jobs. Both loans were forgiven. The restaurant was approved for

1508-409: The Patent Office does post a list of those who are registered. While the inventor of a relatively simple-to-describe invention may well be able to produce an adequate specification and detailed drawings, there remains language complexity in what is claimed , either in the particular claim language of a utility application, or in the manner in which drawings are presented in a design application. There

1566-566: The Route 66 journey. The history of the Gemini Giant and Launching Pad are intertwined. The Giant's attractiveness as a tourist photo stop has brought more visibility to the business than a small, local, independent fast food restaurant could expect to receive otherwise, while the restaurant's success is needed to keep the Giant where it has stood since 1965. Korelc retired from full time work in 1986, but would continue to assist his daughter Sharon at

1624-780: The South), and between John Carlyle Street (on the East) to Elizabeth Lane (on the West) in Alexandria, Virginia. An additional building in Arlington, Virginia , was opened in 2009. The USPTO was expected by 2014 to open its first ever satellite offices in Detroit , Dallas , Denver , and Silicon Valley to reduce backlog and reflect regional industrial strengths. The first satellite office opened in Detroit on July 13, 2012. In 2013, due to

1682-546: The U.S. Trademark Office originated in China. Since 2008, the Trademark Office has hosted a National Trademark Expo every two years, billing it as "a free, family-friendly event designed to educate the public about trademarks and their importance in the global marketplace." The Expo features celebrity speakers such as Anson Williams (of the television show Happy Days ) and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and has numerous trademark-holding companies as exhibitors. Before

1740-418: The USPTO director. She was sworn in on April 13, 2022. On December 16, 2022, Kathi Vidal announced that Vaishali Udupa, an intellectual property attorney, engineer, and currently a top executive from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), will join the 13,000-person Department of Commerce agency as the new Commissioner for Patents effective January 17, 2023. For many years, Congress has "diverted" about 10% of

1798-462: The United States. Standing approximately 18–25 ft (5.5–7.6 m) tall, the first figure was a Paul Bunyan character designed to hold an axe. Derivatives of that figure were widely used to hold full-sized car mufflers , tires, or other items promoting various roadside businesses. International Fiberglass of Venice, California constructed most Muffler Men. While the fiberglass figures are no longer manufactured, many still exist throughout

Gemini Giant - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-464: The application and also includes an interview with the examiner. The first accelerated patent was granted on March 15, 2007, with a six-month issuance time. As of the end of 2008, there were 1,208,076 patent applications pending at the Patent Office. At the end of 1997, the number of applications pending was 275,295. Therefore, over those eleven years there was a 439% increase in the number of pending applications. December 2012 data showed that there

1914-501: The application. The USPTO accepts patent applications filed in electronic form. Inventors or their patent agents/attorneys can file applications as Adobe PDF documents. Filing fees can be paid by credit card or by a USPTO "deposit account". The USPTO web site provides free electronic copies of issued patents and patent applications as multiple-page TIFF (graphic) documents. The site also provides Boolean search and analysis tools. The USPTO's free distribution service only distributes

1972-438: The bulk of the employees at USPTO. They hold degrees in various scientific disciplines, but do not necessarily hold law degrees. Unlike patent examiners, trademark examiners must be licensed attorneys. All examiners work under a strict, "count"-based production system. For every application, "counts" are earned by composing, filing, and mailing a first Office action on the merits, and upon disposal of an application. In 2012,

2030-506: The business and financial arts (e.g., banking, insurance , stock trading etc.), and the issuance of a number of controversial patents ( e.g. , U.S. patent 5,960,411 " Amazon one click patent ") in the business method area. Effective August 2006, the USPTO introduced an accelerated patent examination procedure in an effort to allow inventors a speedy evaluation of an application with a final disposition within twelve months. The procedure requires additional information to be submitted with

2088-453: The equivalent of such a degree". Any person who practices trademark law before the USPTO must be an active member in good standing of the highest court of any state. The United States allows any citizen from any country to sit for the patent bar (if he/she has the requisite technical background). Only Canada has a reciprocity agreement with the United States that confers upon a patent agent similar rights. An unrepresented inventor may file

2146-489: The exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. The USPTO maintains a permanent, interdisciplinary historical record of all U.S. patent applications in order to fulfill objectives outlined in the United States Constitution . The PTO's mission is to promote "industrial and technological progress in the United States and strengthen the national economy" by: The USPTO is headquartered at

2204-401: The fees that the USPTO collected into the general treasury of the United States. In effect, this took money collected from the patent system to use for the general budget. This fee diversion has been generally opposed by patent practitioners (e.g., patent attorneys and patent agents ), inventors, the USPTO, as well as former federal judge Paul R. Michel . These stakeholders would rather use

2262-403: The fundamentals of patent law, practice and examination procedure in a college-style environment. Because of the impending USPTO budget crisis previously alluded to, it had been rumored that the academy would be closed by the end of 2009. Focarino, then Acting Commissioner for Patents, denied in a May 2009 interview that the academy was being shut down, but stated that it would be cut back because

2320-583: The funds to improve the patent office and patent system, such as by implementing the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan. The last six annual budgets of the George W. Bush administration did not propose to divert any USPTO fees, and the first budget of the Barack Obama administration continued this practice, as well as the second budget of the Trump administration; however, stakeholders continue to press for

2378-520: The hiring goal for new examiners in fiscal 2009 was reduced to 600. Ultimately, 588 new patent examiners were hired in fiscal year 2009. In 2016, the USPTO partnered with the Girl Scouts of the USA to create an " Intellectual Property Patch" merit badge , which is awarded to Girl Scouts at four different levels. In October 2021, President Joe Biden nominated attorney Kathi Vidal to serve as

Gemini Giant - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-430: The matter, eventually Vilt's attorney withdrew as counsel in 2019, and the trademark application was officially declared abandoned in 2021 because Vilt never filed a statement of use in the prior four years, and had failed to request an extension. Barker filed her own trademark application for "Gemini Giant" to be used on merchandise on November 28, 2017. Following the abandonment of Vilt's application, Barker's application

2494-518: The patent and trademark applications, and participating in administrative appeals and other proceedings before the PTO examiners, examining attorneys and boards. The USPTO sets its own standards for who may practice. Any person who practices patent law before the USPTO must become a registered patent attorney or agent. A patent agent is a person who has passed the USPTO registration examination (the "patent bar") but has not passed any state bar exam to become

2552-551: The patent documents as a set of TIFF files. Numerous free and commercial services provide patent documents in other formats, such as Adobe PDF and CPC . The USPTO has been criticized for granting patents for impossible or absurd, already known, or arguably obvious inventions. Economists have documented that, although the USPTO makes mistakes when granting patents, these mistakes might be less prominent than some might believe. The USPTO has been criticized for taking an inordinate amount of time in examining patent applications. This

2610-465: The property for sale with an asking price of $ 650,000. An auction was held in April 2016, with a local couple submitting the high bid of $ 177,500. The bid failed to meet the reserve price of the auction, and the buyers and sellers could not come to an agreement in negotiations following the auction. The property would remain vacant until late 2017, when the building, contents, and statue were purchased by

2668-406: The rest are support staff. While the agency has noticeably grown in recent years, the rate of growth was far slower in fiscal 2009 than in the recent past; this is borne out by data from fiscal 2005 to the present: As of the end of FY 2018, the USPTO was composed of 12,579 federal employees, including 8,185 patent examiners, 579 trademark examiners, and 3,815 other staff. Patent examiners make up

2726-501: The restaurant. Both the Launching Pad and the Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2007, Morey Szczecin purchased the Launching Pad and Gemini Giant from Sharon and her husband Jerry Gatties, marking the first time the restaurant and statue were owned by an individual outside of the founding family. The business struggled and began closing seasonally, and closed in 2010. Szczecin listed

2784-410: The return of the Gemini Giant is scheduled for November 30, 2024. Just weeks after Holly Barker's purchase of the Gemini Giant was made public, Jeffrey Vilt of neighboring Coal City filed a trademark application for the phrase "Launching Pad Gemini Giant" for use on merchandise. Vilt had no connection to any of Barker, the Gemini Giant, or the Launching Pad. After a lengthy dispute with Barker over

2842-498: The same basic characteristics (such as the right palm up, left palm down position in which the original Bunyan lumberjack figure held his axe) with minor variation. Various fiberglass molds allowed different heads, limbs, or torsos to be substituted to create multiple variant characters. Some would promote food, others automotive products. A fifteen-foot Amish man standing over a diner in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and

2900-559: The sharpest declines and inclines in American history. During the spring, COVID-19 lockdowns led to reduced filings, which then increased in July 2020 to exceed the previous year. August 2020 was subsequently the highest month of trademark filings in the history of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO only allows certain qualified persons to practice before the USPTO. Practice includes filing of patent and trademark applications on behalf of individuals and companies, prosecuting

2958-588: The statue was donated to Wilmington and will be displayed at the South Island Park. The donation part of that press release was later shown to be untrue when a museum loan agreement was entered into the public record as part of the agenda for a May 14, 2024 Wilmington Committee of the Whole meeting. The museum is retaining ownership of the Gemini Giant and entered into two year loan agreement with Wilmington, ending on March 20, 2026. A public party celebrating

SECTION 50

#1732791001862

3016-908: The trademarks are registered on either the Principal Register or the Supplemental Register , depending upon whether the mark meets the appropriate distinctiveness criteria. This federal system governs goods and services distributed via interstate commerce, and operates alongside state level trademark registration systems. Trademark applications have grown substantially in recent years, jumping from 296,490 new applications in 2000, to 345,000 new applications in 2014, to 458,103 new applications in 2018. Recent growth has been driven partially by growing numbers of trademark applications originating in China; trademark applications from China have grown more than 12-fold since 2013, and in 2017, one in every nine trademark applications reviewed by

3074-499: Was 597,579 unexamined patent applications in the backlog. During the four years since 2009, more than a 50% reduction was achieved. First action pendency was reported as 19.2 months. In 2012, the USPTO initiated an internal investigation into allegations of fraud by employees taking advantage of its remote work policies. Investigators discovered that some patent examiners had lied about the hours they had worked, but high level officials prevented access to computer records, thus limiting

3132-488: Was abandoned when Barker again failed to respond to the USPTO . A third application filed by Barker, now for "Launching Pad Gemini Giant" and including the image of the Giant, for use on clothing remains live but suspended due once again to Barker's failure to respond to a USPTO required submission of a specimen of use. A further application made on behalf of the Launching Pad Restaurant LLC, for

3190-629: Was allowed in May 2022. However, she too failed to submit a statement of use and this application was also abandoned. Another application, this time for "Launching Pad Gemini Giant" and including the image of the Giant, was filed for use in fast-food restaurant services. The application was initially refused due to the likelihood of confusion with the prior registered trademark granted to the Launch Pad Brewery located in Colorado. This application

3248-529: Was held at the local grade school to give the statue a new moniker, and Cathy Thomas's suggestion of "Gemini Giant" was selected as the winner. Since then, the Giant has become famous iconography of Route 66, often appearing national and international media alongside stories about the Mother Road. Its continued presence in Wilmington has become one of the most photographed destinations for travelers making

3306-468: Was most often seen promoting Sinclair Oil stations, but also appeared at various miniature golf courses. When businesses closed or were sold, often the figures would be repainted and adapted to represent different characters or were relocated. The statues have become natives , Vikings , football players and sports mascots , country bumpkins, cooks and chefs, cowboys, soldiers, sea pirates , and astronauts . The use of roadside novelties represented

3364-635: Was the former director of the USPTO until he left office on January 20, 2021. The USPTO cooperates with the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) as one of the Trilateral Patent Offices . The USPTO is also a Receiving Office, an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examination Authority for international patent applications filed in accordance with

#861138