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Wednesday November 29, 2006
5 Comments

A La Carte (11/29)

Wednesday November 29, 2006

Women: The ladies over at GirlTalk provide links to several good articles from the latest issue of the "Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood."

Du Jour: A new book tells us something we already know: women talk three times as much as men. "Women also speak more quickly, devote more brainpower to chit-chat - and actually get a buzz out of hearing their own voices, a new book suggests."

Weird: Want to make a sandwich? You may not be able to call it that for long as McDonald's is attempting to patent the name, claiming the "method and apparatus for making a sandwich as its intellectual property."

Comments (5) »

1. Rick
November 29, 2006
1:28 PM

Suggested alternative to “sandwich”:

beachwich
bread stacker
the meal formerly known as sandwich
McPB&J

2. spicedparrot
November 29, 2006
2:09 PM

FYI - a patent isn’t he same as a trademark. Even if awarded this patent it is limited to the specific claims it contains. Thus, any variation would be a non-infringing use.

Also, a patent has nothing to do with the “word”. Those are trademarks and it would be awfully tough to trademark something as simple as “sandwich”.

Well - most probably don’t care but just in case thought I would share.

3. Frank Martens
November 29, 2006
3:38 PM

the meal formerly known as sandwich

I’m going to start calling my sandwiches that now.

4. David
November 29, 2006
7:41 PM

women talk three times as much as men

Only three times? Who are they kidding?

5. Travis Seitler
November 30, 2006
10:36 AM

spicedparrot is right on “patent” vs. “trademark.” And while McDonald’s® may acquire a patent for a unique way of building a sandwich, they cannot patent the sandwich process itself: that has been in general public use since the 4th Earl of Sandwich supposedly “invented” it, c. 1762.

The effect of a patent is to regulate the use of a newly-publicized recipe, method, invention, etc. So it sounds like the Golden Arches is looking to sell the secrets of their burger-construction methods to the highest bidder(s).

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