Happy Thanksgiving from IPWatchdog

Since last Thanksgiving there have been 11 U.S. patents issued with the word “turkey” in the title. They are:

U.S. Patent No. 9,180,730, titled Turkey mount and process
U.S. Design Patent No. D741,210, titled Combination turkey call
U.S. Patent No. 9,155,422, titled Turkey flipper and method for making and using
U.S. Patent No. 9,131,712, titled Turkey blanket/lifter
U.S. Design Patent No.D737,568, titled Turkey pack
U.S. Design Patent No.D731,229, titled Turkey fryer
U.S. Patent No. 9,016,190, titled Turkey fryer with complete splatter protection
U.S. Patent No. 8,986,987, titled Herpesvirus of turkeys vectored vaccine against avian influenza in poultry
U.S. Patent No. 8,927,270, titled Turkey herpesviruas vectored recombinant containing avian influenza genes
U.S. Patent No 8,925,240, titled Turkey decoy
U.S. Design Patent No. D720,122, titled Hat accessory turkey foot

What does this tell us? That there isn’t a lot of patented innovation in any given year dealing with turkeys. Of course, that really isn’t the point of this article.

For years now I have used this yearly Thanksgiving column to remind readers about the dangers of deep-frying a turkey, as something of a public service announcement I suppose. Several years ago I wrote:

[W]hatever you do, if you are going to deep fry your turkey remember 2 things (at least). First, make sure the turkey is thawed, you don’t want to put something frozen into a pot of boiling oil! Second, for goodness sakes don’t fill the turkey fryer to the top with oil and then put in the turkey! Let Archimedes be your guide. If you fill the fryer to the top with oil the boiling oil that overflows the cooking vessel will be equal in volume to that of the turkey you just dropped into the cooking vessel!

So if you are going to deep fry your turkey this year be careful, and don’t be a statistic! Every year 900 homes are destroyed as the result of turkey fryer accidents, with 5 deaths and 60 injuries, not to mention $15 million in property damage. See Top 5 states with most turkey fryer accidents.

https://youtu.be/yObDuYTfudY

But the point of this article isn’t just to remind you to let Archimedes by your guide, or to identify a handful of recent patents that deal with turkeys. Rather, the point of the article is to simply say THANKS! Thank you for reading IPWatchdog.com.

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Gene Quinn Gene Quinn is a patent attorney and a leading commentator on patent law and innovation policy. Mr. Quinn has twice been named one of the top 50 most influential people [...see more]

Warning & Disclaimer: The pages, articles and comments on IPWatchdog.com do not constitute legal advice, nor do they create any attorney-client relationship. The articles published express the personal opinion and views of the author as of the time of publication and should not be attributed to the author’s employer, clients or the sponsors of IPWatchdog.com.

Join the Discussion

5 comments so far.

Night Writer
November 27, 2015 01:57 pm
Maybe Steve could do an article on the IP of the Duck Dynasty.
Night Writer
November 27, 2015 01:56 pm
Happy Holidays Gene! You do a great job and it is our privilege to read your blog.
EG
November 27, 2015 09:16 am
Hey Gene,

Hope you and Renee had a most Blessed Thanksgiving. “Frying” turkeys is most definitely NOT in our family’s lexicon or tradition.
David Stein
November 27, 2015 01:37 am
It’s been a great year! More to come – hopefully with more gravy than turkeys from the courts this year…
Paul Cole
November 26, 2015 02:22 am
Very best holiday wishes to Gene and Renee, and also to the contributors and readers of this blog.