Everyday IP: love, innovation and Intellectual Property

Synonymous with sweet sentiments, the company actively protects its trademarks against possible infringement to maintain its place in the hallowed halls of romantic communication. Today, over 145 million Valentine's Day cards are sold annually, proving that love — and business — is still written in ink.

Though the message in a greeting card may be heartfelt, the logo on the back represents a carefully crafted and maintained commercial image. One of the best-known examples of wrapping affection in brand identity begins in the 19th century. Victorian brides would give turquoise brooches as wedding mementos, and this tradition is believed to have influenced jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, who adopted the distinctive robin's-egg hue for his company's packaging. Thanks to this commitment to continuity, Tiffany Blue is a registered trademark that has been protected since 1998. No matter the particular industry, when it comes to ardent gifts, trademarks are like a love letter to brand exclusivity. 

Still, even Valentine's Day is not all sunshine and fresh blooms. Disputes over trademarks prove that though all may be fair in love and war, it is not so in IP protection.

The language of love: trademark clashes

You might plan for a candlelit dinner, but if you are not careful with IP, you could end up in a courtroom instead. With shoppers in the United States alone spending north of $25 billion USD for the event in recent years, Valentine's Day has a way of turning declarations of love into accusations of infringement.

One brand that fiercely defends its IP is Cartier. The luxury accessories company is renowned for its unique bracelet design and a stylized rendering of the word "love," with the "o" and "e" resembling screwheads. While Cartier has lost an infringement battle with another jewelry company using the word "love," its latest wins include two joint lawsuits with Amazon. These cases involved the selling of counterfeit bracelets and social media influencers with presumably less-than-tender intentions. 

Fortunately, not every IP holder is battling it out on Valentine's Day. Some are focused on using love as their muse, with patents like paths of rose petals leading to incredible inventions. 

Patents on passion: love-inspired inventions

If you have ever enjoyed heart-shaped chocolate, you may have Verlooy Herwig to thank for it. The owner of a U.S. design patent joins a host of masterminds with hearts in their eyes. This includes Gioacchino Ligresti, who patented a design for heart-shaped pasta and Ami Haimoff, who patented a method for creating heart-shaped diamonds by placing two pear-shaped diamonds together.

Diamonds themselves have seen their fair share of innovation, with synthetic ones representing a solid effort to engineer romance. While a common manufacturing process involves placing carbon under pressure and temperature extremes, U.S. Patent No. 3,630,677 brought a bright spark to convention, detailing a (comparatively) low-pressure process for diamond growth. Another standard method is slowly building up gems out of a gas mixture; U.S. Patent Application No. 20210395916A1 describes a way of improving this approach using a microwave plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition technique.

Sometimes, however, love grows better in the dirt, and that is where plants come in. If you are speaking to your beloved in the language of flowers this Valentine's Day, take a moment to reflect on the bouquet of patents that could be adding a splash of ingenuity to your floral surprise. 

Flower power: patents in a bed of roses 

The world's first plant patent was issued to Henry F. Bosenberg on August 18, 1931, for a climbing or trailing rose appropriately named "The New Dawn" (U.S. Plant Patent No. 1). This patent marked the beginning of legal protection for certain plant varieties. Whether as plant patents or plant variety rights, these registrations grant cultivators exclusive rights to asexually reproduce and sell their new plant varieties – generally for 20-30 years from the filing date. This protection has incentivized the development of numerous rose varieties, enriching the botanical options available for lucky sweethearts.

From there, the IP world blossomed: French horticulturist Francis Meillard received U.S. Plant Patent No. 591 in 1943 for his rose, "Peace," so named as a symbol of hope and concord. Patented in 1976, "My Valentine" quickly became one of the holiday's most popular varieties with its lusciously deep red petals and subtly sweet fragrance. Another famous flower is the "Knock Out" rose, known for hardiness and disease resistance; while its patent has expired, the trademark remains in force, protecting the name and branding of the family of cultivars.

Today, genetic science is leading to an efflorescence of new possibilities, moving closer to the much-coveted "true blue" rose. Patents for genetically transformed rose plants and nucleic acid encoding are just two examples of biotech advances that touch the heart even more than they do the wallet.

From chocolates and cards to diamonds and roses, it is clear that love can be the catalyst for innovation and infringement alike. Do not count on Cupid to protect your rights, instead, contact the Dennemeyer team for help building a charmed relationship with IP.