Thankful for Thanksgiving Intellectual Property
Thanksgiving is a time to look around and be thankful for our friends and family, the food on our table, and also intellectual property, because without intellectual property our Thanksgiving Day feasts would not be possible.
Nearly everything you use to celebrate Thanksgiving is some form of intellectual property.
If you like to roast your turkey, then it is likely you have used a classic turkey roaster such as the one claimed in U.S. Utility Patent 925,781, which was patented in 1909.1 This invention was especially adapted to allow people to cook fowl to perfection without the need for basting or the use of water.
If you do like to baste your turkey, then odds are you have this baster in your cooking utensil drawer, which is protected by a utility patent.2
Most of the decorations you place on your table or around your house are also protected intellectual property. This decorative turkey wearing a hat 3, this decorative pine cone 4, and this pilgrim shaped decoration 5 are all examples of Thanksgiving decorations that are protected by either design or utility patents.
Many of your Thanksgiving Day food produ
cts are protected by intellectual property as well. If canned cranberry sauce makes its way onto your table, because you ran out of time to make your own, then you may be interested to know that the process for forming a jellied cranberry sauce was at one point a 
protected process owned by Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.6 Common ingredients you use to complete your feast such as gravy mix7, evaporated milk8, and stuffing mix9 these are all products that will most likely be protected by patents. If you use any Jeenie-O Turkey product in your Thanksgiving Day meals, it owns the trademark “THURSDAY IS TURKEY DAY.”10
If you are a dog lover and are treating your dog to their very own special Thanksgiving Day feast then you may find yourself purchasing Merrick’s “THANKSGIVING DAY DINNER” for your four legged child, which is protected by a trademark.11
If your Thanksgiving tradition is to watch “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” 12 “Garfield’s Thanksgiving,”13 or “ Home for the Holidays”14 then you may be interested to know that these are all protected by registered copyrights.
Nearly everything you use to celebrate Thanksgiving is some type of intellectual property, from your decorations, the music you have playing in the background, the cookware you use to make your meal, your serving tray, and even the utensils you use to serve your meal are all intellectual property.
So, while you are gathered around your table this holiday season giving thanks for everything you have don’t forget to say a little thank you for intellectual property.
ARC IP Law is well versed in all areas of intellectual property in both prosecution and litigation.
Danna Cotman is the founder of ARC IP Law and has a background in Fashion Design, a Master’s in Business Administration, and has years of experience registering, enforcing and protecting intellectual property.