Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart PLLC
Newsletter – Volume 23, Issue 17
Share on Social
Innovating Barbie: Patents on the Plastic Fashionista
By: Norm K. Freda
The recently released Barbie movie has taken the world by storm, grossing $350 million in the US and $774.5 million worldwide in just ten days. Before Barbie danced her way onto the silver screen, however, she graced the pages of less popular media – the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, a weekly journal that publishes select portions of patents issued that week.
As the saying goes, you must learn to walk before you can run. Barbie took that saying a step further, or rather a step backward, as she would first need to learn how to stand. Early on, the Barbie doll had trouble standing upright on her own since she wore high heels and stood on her tiptoes. The first Barbie patent filed in 1959, US 3,009,284, sought to address this problem. This patent describes a doll stand that supports a Barbie doll in “a balanced, realistic position.” The stand includes a platform with two pins that are inserted into bores in the Barbie doll’s feet and a stand with a pair of hooks that support the doll’s underarms.
Once she was able to stand on her own, Barbie became a bit more mobile and posable. A US patent, US 3,277,601, granted in 1966 discloses a Barbie doll with “life-like” limbs that are “adapted to reproduce the natural movements and contours of a human limb and yet maintain a selected position.” The doll’s legs each have an internal support structure with a thigh shaft and a shin shaft that are pivotably connected to one another to provide the doll with functional knees. US 3,628,282 built on this concept adding a variety of different joints to provide the Barbie doll with functional shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles and to enable the doll’s head to turn and tilt without creating a gap.
Barbie’s Dreamhouse has even appeared in the Official Gazette. The second iteration of Barbie’s dreamhouse, the subject of US 3,363,360, was foldable into a suitcase-style package with a carrying handle for convenient storage and travel. Complete with a living room, bedroom, kitchen, patio, slidable patio door, an open-and-close closet, and working cabinet doors, Barbie’s dreamhouse was truly a marvel. Some may not feel it’s quite a ‘dreamhouse’ though due to its cardboard construction.
From Official Gazette patents to her signature shade of pink flooding the box office, Barbie has been a smashing success.
Norman K. Freda is an attorney at Fishman Stewart and practices in the fields of patent, trademark, copyright law, and litigation. He holds a BS degree in Applied Engineering Sciences from Michigan State University. Check out his bio.
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
Halloween is coming up at the end of this month, and we are celebrating a little early with the spooky copyright story of Jap Herron!
In 2023, California artist Joe Morford lost his copyright infringement lawsuit against Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Morford claimed that Cattelan's viral artwork "Comedian," which features a banana duct-taped to a wall, was a copy of his own work, "Banana and Orange."
Last month, Outkast filed suit against ATLiens Touring, seeking an injunction against ATLiens Touring’s continued use of ATLiens and seeking damages.
Imagine opening a brand-new box of 64-color Crayola Crayons. Take a whiff. No matter how or where or when you grew up, this is a scent you know. We all know. But is that enough to obtain a US federal trademark registration?
Historically, “bad word” marks would have been refused as “immoral” or “scandalous.” That changed due to the Supreme Court’s 2019 Iancu v. Brunetti decision.
Fourteen teams of the US National Basketball Association (NBA) have been sued in federal district court for copyright infringement. The complaints were filed by companies claiming to own rights in various musical works.
In Chicago last weekend, the Chicago Air and Water Show entertained thousands of lakeshore spectators with the aerial prowess of a series of aircraft including the Blue Angels, F-35s, supersonic jets, and other airplanes.
During this year's RNC, Hulk Hogan delivered an impassioned speech featuring the term “Trumpamania”—-a play on the term “WrestleMania,” the annual wrestling event where Hogan was a long-time reigning champion.
In the digital age, social media has become a powerful platform for content creation, enabling individuals and businesses to reach wide audiences. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have made it easy for anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection to create and share content.
Car enthusiasts are buzzing about Alfa Romeo's latest SUV which is also its first EV (plus a hybrid option). Initially branded as “Milano,” the name was changed to "Junior" after it was announced that the car would be produced in Poland.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
