The piracy of BraBaby; Wall Street Journal missing facts?
The Wall Street Journal Online has a story of of Asian piracy of the BraBaby, a plastic cage that looks like a Wiffle ball and prevents bras from getting tangled in the spin cycle. Although there is evidence of copying by folks in China, the Wall Street Journal did not really establish who truly owned the intellectual property rights in the first place.
Of piracy by the Chinese, and others:
China is hardly the only intellectual-property battleground in the world, as threats to BraBaby from South Korea and Turkey attest, but it is among the world's riskier markets. So Mr. Engel has taken the fight to the pirates. In April, he arrived in Guangzhou for the Canton Fair, China's largest export trade show, carrying a briefcase stuffed full of trademarks and design patents. His mission: to scour the fair's 30,000-odd booths for the Chinese companies selling knockoffs of his product to importers at cut rate.
It didn't take Mr. Engel long to find China-Base Ningbo Foreign Trade Co. selling tens of thousands of the item for as little as 45 cents apiece. After posing as a potential buyer and asking a few questions about the product, Mr. Engel walked off with a brochure and stormed into the fair's Intellectual Property Complaints Office, where he learned he lacked the proper documentation to prove his identity. A few days later, in Beijing, he consulted with the lawyer who had helped him register BraBaby in China and got no more satisfaction. The lawyer told him his application was backlogged -- a typical problem in China, where trademarks often take up to three years to be registered.
Curiously, the Wall Street Journal suggested there may even be prior art to BraBaby:
In the tangled world of intellectual-property claims, Mr. Engel himself isn't immune to challenges. An Austin, Texas, company called BraBall holds an earlier U.S. patent on a product similar to the BraBaby, though BraBall part-owner Jack Lander, a past president of the United Inventors Association, says there are no immediate plans to challenge Mr. Engel's product in court.
"We're competing on quality," he says.
IPBiz could not find a relevant patent for Jack Lander, although it did find Lander's 6,439,718 ( Adjustable nose piece assembly for make-up eyeglasses). IPBiz could not find a relevant US patent application with inventor name Engel. The Wall Street Journal stated that Laura Engel was the BraBaby's creator.
IPBiz notes a different article states: Chicago inventor Laura Engel, co-owner of Angel, said she was unaware of a similar product being marketing when she developed her BraBaby. Phan got a patent in June 2004. Engel got one in July 2006.
Of costs, the WSJOnline noted:
Thus far, Mr. Engel says, he has spent about $125,000 registering the BraBaby for patenting, copyright and trademark in the U.S., the European Community, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in China.
***Of patents, IPBiz could not find an issued patent to Laura Engel directed to anything like BraBaby. Perhaps the Wall Street Journal could illuminate us on this matter.
IPBiz did find
Published application 20060162397 to Ke; Kuo-Chang with abstract:
The present invention relates to a clothes washing and holding apparatus comprising two semicircular housings capable of being coupled together to form a sphere, with pores on a surface thereof for the entry and exit of water, and a coupling member disposed on a rim thereof for coupling purpose; an impact ball, which is made of buoyant materials and inserted between the two semicircular housings. When brassieres are placed inside the two semicircular housings, the impact ball is placed between brassier cups, such that when the clothes washing and holding apparatus is spun into water, the buoyant impact ball will make the clothes washing and holding apparatus float on the water surface, thereby achieving excellent washing effects for brassieres.
First claim: A clothes washing and holding apparatus comprising: two semicircular housings, each of which can be coupled together to form a sphere, with pores on a surface thereof for the entry and exit of water, and a coupling member disposed on a rim thereof for coupling purpose; an impact ball, which is made of buoyant materials and inserted between the two semicircular housings.
**
Published application 20060086159
An apparatus for washing at least one item, comprising a frame having a dome shape when viewed from its end, and a generally triangular or concave shape when viewed from its side; and a flow through mesh on the frame which allows washing fluid (generally water) to freely flow to and from the item being washed; the apparatus having an opening through which the at least one item to be washed can be placed into and removed from the apparatus.
**
Published application 20040034943 (Peska)
**
US 6,973,808 (to Peska)
**
US 5,971,236 (to DesForges and Blench)
Abstract: A device for protecting a brassiere in a washing machine includes a pair of hemispherically shaped shells (preferably injection molded polypropylene material) adapted to assemble together over a cup of the brassiere as a protective covering for the cup. The outer shell has a circularly shaped first rim portion and a hemispherically shaped first dome portion larger than the cup of the brassiere that extends to the first rim portion. The inner shell has a circularly shaped second rim portion and a hemispherically shaped second dome portion that extends to the second rim portion, said second dome portion having a size adapted to fit within the first dome portion of the outer shell with the first and second rim portions in concentric relationship and the cup of the brassiere disposed intermediate the first and second dome portions. At least three pins are included on the second rim portion of the inner shell and at least three pin-engaging structures are provided on the outer shell for engaging the pins in order to removably secure the inner shell to the outer shell with the cup of the brassiere in between. Each pin-engaging structure preferably defines a slot adapted to receive a pin in multiple pin positions with a friction fit sufficient to engage the pin.
Within description of prior art:
Machine washing can easily damage a delicate brassiere. The garment protector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,013 alleviates that concern by using two domed-shaped basket members to hold the cups of the bra during laundering. After securing the cups tightly in the basket members with two hinged biasing members, the user rotates the basket members into a football-like configuration, locks them together, and proceeds to machine wash and dry the entire assembly.
**
US 5,829,083
Abstract: A device 10 is used during washing of a brassiere 24 to protect the brassiere and maintain the shape of the cups 24a and 24b of the brassiere. It includes an inner spherical framework 12 contained within a larger outer spherical framework 14. Each framework is formed by a pair of hemispherical sections that upon being coupled together form the individual frameworks. With the inner framework 12 open, the brassiere 24 is fitted over the hemispherical sections, with one section being placed inside each cup of the brassiere. The sections of the inner framework 12 with the brassiere thereon are then closed and placed inside an open outer framework 14. The outer framework 14 is then closed to enclose the inner framework 12, and the assembly of frameworks is placed into a washing machine. The inner and outer frameworks are open structures that allow water to flow thereto during washing.
Of issued patents to people named Engel, there is
6,094,763, issued 1 Aug 2000, and titled Method and device for unloading items of washing from a treatment machine
but that's to Gerhard Engel. There's 4,925,495 to Melvyn Engel.
***
A comment was made to moneyweb:
The text "earlier patent" and "Thus far, Mr. Engel says, he has spent about $125,000 registering the BraBaby for patenting, copyright and trademark in the U.S., the European Community, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in China," might imply that Engel has a US patent on BraBaby. Investigation of the USPTO database shows no patent. If there is no issued patent, there are no patent rights upon which to assert an infringment or piracy. What's the deal here?
**
See also Az republic.
Of piracy by the Chinese, and others:
China is hardly the only intellectual-property battleground in the world, as threats to BraBaby from South Korea and Turkey attest, but it is among the world's riskier markets. So Mr. Engel has taken the fight to the pirates. In April, he arrived in Guangzhou for the Canton Fair, China's largest export trade show, carrying a briefcase stuffed full of trademarks and design patents. His mission: to scour the fair's 30,000-odd booths for the Chinese companies selling knockoffs of his product to importers at cut rate.
It didn't take Mr. Engel long to find China-Base Ningbo Foreign Trade Co. selling tens of thousands of the item for as little as 45 cents apiece. After posing as a potential buyer and asking a few questions about the product, Mr. Engel walked off with a brochure and stormed into the fair's Intellectual Property Complaints Office, where he learned he lacked the proper documentation to prove his identity. A few days later, in Beijing, he consulted with the lawyer who had helped him register BraBaby in China and got no more satisfaction. The lawyer told him his application was backlogged -- a typical problem in China, where trademarks often take up to three years to be registered.
Curiously, the Wall Street Journal suggested there may even be prior art to BraBaby:
In the tangled world of intellectual-property claims, Mr. Engel himself isn't immune to challenges. An Austin, Texas, company called BraBall holds an earlier U.S. patent on a product similar to the BraBaby, though BraBall part-owner Jack Lander, a past president of the United Inventors Association, says there are no immediate plans to challenge Mr. Engel's product in court.
"We're competing on quality," he says.
IPBiz could not find a relevant patent for Jack Lander, although it did find Lander's 6,439,718 ( Adjustable nose piece assembly for make-up eyeglasses). IPBiz could not find a relevant US patent application with inventor name Engel. The Wall Street Journal stated that Laura Engel was the BraBaby's creator.
IPBiz notes a different article states: Chicago inventor Laura Engel, co-owner of Angel, said she was unaware of a similar product being marketing when she developed her BraBaby. Phan got a patent in June 2004. Engel got one in July 2006.
Of costs, the WSJOnline noted:
Thus far, Mr. Engel says, he has spent about $125,000 registering the BraBaby for patenting, copyright and trademark in the U.S., the European Community, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in China.
***Of patents, IPBiz could not find an issued patent to Laura Engel directed to anything like BraBaby. Perhaps the Wall Street Journal could illuminate us on this matter.
IPBiz did find
Published application 20060162397 to Ke; Kuo-Chang with abstract:
The present invention relates to a clothes washing and holding apparatus comprising two semicircular housings capable of being coupled together to form a sphere, with pores on a surface thereof for the entry and exit of water, and a coupling member disposed on a rim thereof for coupling purpose; an impact ball, which is made of buoyant materials and inserted between the two semicircular housings. When brassieres are placed inside the two semicircular housings, the impact ball is placed between brassier cups, such that when the clothes washing and holding apparatus is spun into water, the buoyant impact ball will make the clothes washing and holding apparatus float on the water surface, thereby achieving excellent washing effects for brassieres.
First claim: A clothes washing and holding apparatus comprising: two semicircular housings, each of which can be coupled together to form a sphere, with pores on a surface thereof for the entry and exit of water, and a coupling member disposed on a rim thereof for coupling purpose; an impact ball, which is made of buoyant materials and inserted between the two semicircular housings.
**
Published application 20060086159
An apparatus for washing at least one item, comprising a frame having a dome shape when viewed from its end, and a generally triangular or concave shape when viewed from its side; and a flow through mesh on the frame which allows washing fluid (generally water) to freely flow to and from the item being washed; the apparatus having an opening through which the at least one item to be washed can be placed into and removed from the apparatus.
**
Published application 20040034943 (Peska)
**
US 6,973,808 (to Peska)
**
US 5,971,236 (to DesForges and Blench)
Abstract: A device for protecting a brassiere in a washing machine includes a pair of hemispherically shaped shells (preferably injection molded polypropylene material) adapted to assemble together over a cup of the brassiere as a protective covering for the cup. The outer shell has a circularly shaped first rim portion and a hemispherically shaped first dome portion larger than the cup of the brassiere that extends to the first rim portion. The inner shell has a circularly shaped second rim portion and a hemispherically shaped second dome portion that extends to the second rim portion, said second dome portion having a size adapted to fit within the first dome portion of the outer shell with the first and second rim portions in concentric relationship and the cup of the brassiere disposed intermediate the first and second dome portions. At least three pins are included on the second rim portion of the inner shell and at least three pin-engaging structures are provided on the outer shell for engaging the pins in order to removably secure the inner shell to the outer shell with the cup of the brassiere in between. Each pin-engaging structure preferably defines a slot adapted to receive a pin in multiple pin positions with a friction fit sufficient to engage the pin.
Within description of prior art:
Machine washing can easily damage a delicate brassiere. The garment protector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,013 alleviates that concern by using two domed-shaped basket members to hold the cups of the bra during laundering. After securing the cups tightly in the basket members with two hinged biasing members, the user rotates the basket members into a football-like configuration, locks them together, and proceeds to machine wash and dry the entire assembly.
**
US 5,829,083
Abstract: A device 10 is used during washing of a brassiere 24 to protect the brassiere and maintain the shape of the cups 24a and 24b of the brassiere. It includes an inner spherical framework 12 contained within a larger outer spherical framework 14. Each framework is formed by a pair of hemispherical sections that upon being coupled together form the individual frameworks. With the inner framework 12 open, the brassiere 24 is fitted over the hemispherical sections, with one section being placed inside each cup of the brassiere. The sections of the inner framework 12 with the brassiere thereon are then closed and placed inside an open outer framework 14. The outer framework 14 is then closed to enclose the inner framework 12, and the assembly of frameworks is placed into a washing machine. The inner and outer frameworks are open structures that allow water to flow thereto during washing.
Of issued patents to people named Engel, there is
6,094,763, issued 1 Aug 2000, and titled Method and device for unloading items of washing from a treatment machine
but that's to Gerhard Engel. There's 4,925,495 to Melvyn Engel.
***
A comment was made to moneyweb:
The text "earlier patent" and "Thus far, Mr. Engel says, he has spent about $125,000 registering the BraBaby for patenting, copyright and trademark in the U.S., the European Community, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in China," might imply that Engel has a US patent on BraBaby. Investigation of the USPTO database shows no patent. If there is no issued patent, there are no patent rights upon which to assert an infringment or piracy. What's the deal here?
**
See also Az republic.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 1:55 AM
5 Comments:
You're doing the IP community and the journalism profession a great service here. Obviously, you did an enormous amount of work on this; it's wikipedian in its devotion to accuracy despite the wikipedia vandals' work. Just wanted you to know that someone appreciates your tireless efforts at the IPBiz Blog! Best, Vickie Pynchon
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I could not believe my eyes that there is a writer that uses facts to write an article. I can see that you have done a thorough job researching the patent history. You have left opinions out of it and let facts stand for themselves. I guess that real reporting is done by bloggers instead of newspaper "reporters".
The only thing lacking distinguishing between design and utility patents. I guess that is understandable if we consider your audience.
Sincerely,
Toan Ho
BTW, the patent for Engel's device is here http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD524500
This also refutes Laura Engel's claim of ignorance from your quote since it is listed in their design patent.
"Chicago inventor Laura Engel, co-owner of Angel, said she was unaware of a similar product being marketing when she developed her BraBaby. Phan got a patent in June 2004. Engel got one in July 2006."
This comment has been removed by the author.
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