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Friday, June 9, 2017

Amazon patents a new system that adds parachute to shipping label - drone delivery !!

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others.   There is a Govt Dept. – the  Trade Marks Registry,  established in India in 1940  which now  administers the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the rules thereunder.


Everyone of us buy agarbathies ~ this is also trademarked.  Before that a Q on a Rajnikant film… - Padayappa, was directed by KS Ravikumar; starred Soundarya & Ramya Krishnan with Rajini;  was the last film for Sivaji Ganesan. (Looks like all possible Questions over ?)…….. here is the Q :   - The producer Thenappan registered the ‘stylised Padayappa design’  as a Class 34 trademark in 1998 for some goods, making it to be first instance of brand extention in Tamil film industry ?  Can you tell what the brands were ?

The Trade Marks registry comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. According to the Trade Marks Act, 1999, “trade mark means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours.  Read that there was a trademark spat, whence word 'ungoogleable' was removed from Swedish.. .. …


MailOnline reports that the  days of eagerly waiting for the postman to deliver your package could soon be a thing of the past. Amazon has patented a bizarre new system that adds a parachute to a shipping label. The device could help to make sure that packages delivered by drone or other airborne crafts make a soft landing.
Amazon's patent shows a shipping label that conceals a parachute as well as a system of cords and a harness to keep the package in place. Sensors could also be used within the system to ensure the package hits its landing zone, while a shock absorber could ensure a soft landing. The patent contains several images depicting the system, and these indicate that the labels could be applied to all Amazon packages, then later removed if the firm decides to deliver by truck rather than drone. The parachute itself could come in a range of shapes and sizes, depending on the shape and weight of the package.

The patent was issued to Amazon today  by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The label looks like any other shipping label, but conceals a parachute as well as a system of cords and a harness to keep the package in place. The patent reads: 'The system can comprise a label that includes a parachute to enable the packages to be dropped from the aerial vehicle, yet land at the package's destination without damage.' Sensors could also be used within the system to make sure the package hits its landing zone, while a shock absorber could ensure a soft landing.

The firm has previously patented other ideas for drone delivery, including a system for ejecting packages from drones mid-flight. This patent, published in February, describes using magnets, parachutes or spring coils to release parcels while the unmanned vehicles are in mid-flight – and radio frequencies could help guide packages to their destination. The patent, entitled 'Manoeuvring a package following in-flight release from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)', was filed in June 2015.

Amazon has not been shy about its drone-delivery ambitions, with trials taking place in the UK at the end of 2016, and the first 'Prime Air' demonstration in the US in March.  It describes how Amazon's drone could modify the force applied to the package once it is sent propelled to the ground – allowing the parcel to fall at the right destination. The patent also suggests that the drones will launch the packages and a geo-location, with a radio frequency located inside the package, which would receive data from the drone.  It is unclear if and when Amazon plans to use these two patents. 

Patents allow those who create inventions to keep others from making commercial use of the inventions without the creator's permission. Trademarks, on the other hand, are not concerned with how a new technology is used. Rather, they protect names of products and services, logos and other devices -- such as color, sound and smell -- that are used to identify the source of goods or services and distinguish them from the competition.

Tidbit 1 : the producer of ‘Padayappa’ - Thenappan registered the ‘stylised Padayappa design’ as a Class 34 trademark in 1998 for  - : Beedi, cigarettes, tobacco and cheroots for which class 34 is the no.

Tidbit 2 :  the one at the start, Agarbathi  is the trade mark of a Firm called Moksh Agarbatti Co, Bangalore  ~ this is to be associated with  Chennai incense sticks.
Interesting !!
With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

31st May 2017.

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