Patents & Trademarks Inventory
Patents & Foreign Trademarks
| Type | Country | Number | Name / Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patent | United States | 4,521,435 | Hamburger-Type Meat Patties |
| Trademark | Benelux | 474732 | Configuration of a Hot Dog Bun |
| Trademark | Germany | 1171471 | Configuration of a Hot Dog Bun |
| Trademark | Japan | 1545354 | Configuration of a Hot Dog Bun |
| Trademark | Mexico | 399395 | Configuration of a Hot Dog Bun |
U.S. Trademarks (509,396 – 1,009,757)
| Number | Name / Description |
|---|---|
| 509,396 | Wealth – Nonalcoholic soft drinks |
| 564,709 | Gracious – Butter, margarine, cheese, ice cream |
| 564,710 | Sweet Corn – Butter, margarine, cheese, ice cream |
| 583,016 | Good Lookin' – Ice cream, butter, margarine |
| 595,001 | Pretty Pac – Ice cream, butter, margarine |
| 747,943 | Figure-Whipped – Butter, oleomargarine |
| 801,573 | Flavor-Whipped – Butter, oleomargarine |
| 879,301 | Butter Ball – Hemispherical butter servings |
| 907,649 | Design for square butter/margarine cubes |
| 943,050 | Cream Ball – Butter, cheese, ice cream units |
| 943,343 | Design for hemispherical butter pat |
| 943,344 | Design for square butter cubes |
| 952,224 | Design for butter & margarine |
| 953,191 | Corn Ball – Margarine |
| 956,198 | Design for butter |
| 961,621 | Figure-Maid – Butter |
| 966,678 | Design for butter & margarine |
| 977,804 | Our Rarity – Fresh/frozen beef cuts |
| 978,254–978,257 | Designs for butter & margarine |
| 983,578 | Roast'N Box – Meat |
| 984,610 | Cradle – Retail-sized boneless meat cuts |
| 1,006,163 | Design for butter & margarine pats |
| 1,006,735 | Design for butter & margarine |
| 1,009,757 | Design for butter & margarine |
U.S. Trademarks (1,009,758 – 1,192,837)
✅ Why Leo Peters Filed Hot Dog Bun Patents / Trademarks Internationally
Short answer:
He was protecting the commercial value of food-shape designs and related machinery — not just a bun recipe. International filings stop competitors in important markets (Germany, Japan, Mexico, Benelux) from copying the shape or the machine output.
Key Reasons
- He sold or licensed food-shaping machinery globally: Protecting the produced shape protected the equipment business and licensing revenue.
- Major manufacturers exist in those countries: Germany, Japan, Mexico and the Benelux region had big dairy, margarine, bakery, and frozen-food industries that would buy the machines or licenses.
- Configuration trademarks protect shapes: These are shape/configuration trademarks (not brand names), and they must be filed country-by-country (or regionally, e.g., Benelux).
- No worldwide patent/trademark exists: Each jurisdiction requires a separate filing and examination, so valuable shapes were filed where enforcement mattered.
- Licensing and royalties: If Peters licensed designs or equipment overseas, having IP protection in those countries was essential to collect fees and prevent local copying.
Why those specific regions?
- Benelux (Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg): Regional filing covers three active food markets in one application.
- Germany: A major EU manufacturing hub with many large food processors.
- Japan: Large Asian food-processing market and manufacturing capability.
- Mexico: Important for North/South American manufacturing and distribution.
Bottom line
Filing in multiple countries was a practical business move to protect the shape-based inventions, the machines that produced them, and the licensing opportunities in key global markets.
If you want, I can also convert this into a separate table of filings (country → filing type → short note) so you can paste that into another editable box on your Blogger page.
End of entry.
