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Festive inventions: the IP advent calendar

Our daily life is shaped by patents, designs and trade marks. Inventors and creative people naturally don’t take a break for the festive season. So why not delve into the wonderful world of Christmas inventions and designs with the IPI?

Who knew there were so many Christmassy creations? Delve into the world of festive inventions. Copyright: IPI

The IPI hopes that its advent calendar will amuse you and bring you good cheer. Intellectual property protection never stops, not even for Christmas traditions and celebrations. In the coming 24 days, we’ll take a light-hearted look at some Christmassy patents, designs and trade marks.

 

Enjoy reading about them!

 
Christmas decorations are shining brightly again on our balconies, in our gardens and in the streets. Try these illuminated icicles for a wintry ambience, even in the rain. They light up the darkness, and you’re guaranteed not to get cold fingers.
Merry Christmas! It’s time to spread some seasonal joy. What better way to do so than with fairy lights?
Give your senses a Christmas treat with this unique invention. Listen to the Christmas music, gaze at the shining lights, and breathe in the aroma!

The rights to this festive invention are well protected. The music is covered by copyright, and the lights and the diffuser are registered designs. The only part of this object that can’t be protected is its scent.
The way to the heart is through the stomach, says an old proverb. So cookies and sweet treats are crucial to the season of love and joy. Whether they’re dry and crunchy or chewy and flavourful, what matters is that their design can be protected (...).
It’s always cheering when someone thinks of us. Our eyes light up with joy. On this card, even the baubles light up. (Tip: draw up your Christmas card list today, so you don’t forget anyone).
“Have you been good this year?” Then you can look forward to a stocking full of gifts. Like this stocking, which has design protection. In Switzerland, it’s Nikolaus (St Nicholas) who delivers the presents. And if he thinks you’ve been misbehaving, you might not get any. So you’d better watch out. For example, should you decide to go around calling yourself ‘Nikolaus’s partner’, you might end up with a warning from the authorities. Because this title is a trade mark owned by a well-known company. To find out which one, enter the above IR number in this database: https://www3.wipo.int/madrid/monitor/en/#
We’re well into the advent period now. So it’s high time you put up your Christmas tree. The Cactus Christmas tree has prickly needles too, but it’s not the same shape as traditional fir trees. It might come in handy these days now that the climate is less wintry in December.
This invention is just right for you if you don’t want to buy a new Christmas tree every year. Or if you don’t like stepping on prickly needles. Or wasting time hanging up baubles and tinsel (not suitable for Christmas decorations).
Why worry about the vagaries of nature and struggle to put up a lop-sided fir tree? You could opt instead for a perfectly symmetrical, folding Christmas tree. Then all you need to do each year is go down to your basement and dust it off. You could even conjure up Christmas in your living room at any time of year.
Bing Crosby’s ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas’ might be playing in the background, but more often than not, you’ve got raindrops pattering against your windows. That’s when you need a tree with a device for creating artificial snow. (Note: check the recommended room temperature before you get started.)
The run-up to Christmas is a busy time for company parties and Christmas drinks. This decorated Christmas tree is a delight for the tastebuds, with wine bottles instead of baubles. Whether it is also aesthetically pleasing is in the eyes of the beholder.
This Christmas tree makes for highly efficient Christmas parties. Instead of queuing up for a festive drink, you just help yourself directly from the drinks holders, which are disguised as tree decorations. Advantage: the mulled wine will cool a little on the tree, so it will be ready to drink by the time your boss has finished their Christmas speech.
The tree ornament for the thirsty. When the trade mark protected ‘Christkindles Markt-Glühwein’ (mulled wine) swirls enticingly in the cup and its hot steam flows sweetly and mystically around the delicate branches of the Christmas tree, it’s bound to conjure up some festive spirit.
“A bit more to the left, OK, turn the tree 15 degrees to the right, no, now it’s crooked...” Ah yes, the commands that resound in our living rooms until the Christmas tree is finally perfectly positioned and adorned. This protected design is a great example of the many Christmas tree stands that promise to put an end to the annual struggle.
Avoid having to step on the dry, pointed needles of your tree by supplying it with water. Aesthetic calamities can be reduced to a minimum by using this design-protected water dispenser with a flexible tube – it can be neatly hidden in the tree, and the tree is kept well fed.
What would Christmas be without tree ornaments? Whether gaudy, understated, cheerfully whimsical, traditional or kitschy: there’s probably no object that hasn’t been hung on a Christmas tree.
No, it’s not a tree decoration by an energy drink manufacturer... But perhaps it’s a Christmas tree decoration for that relative who loves nature or that friend who can’t wait for the next cattle procession in the Alps. Regardless, it was registered as a design in Switzerland.
We present the Christmas tree for all those who haven’t got around to buying one and don’t want to be fobbed off with the last gnarled, scrawny, ugly specimen. It’s a tree you can simply lift straight out of the box – with baubles to boot. It’s a bit like ordering a pizza...
When the little ones’ eyes are growing bigger and bigger and their curiosity as to what Santa Claus has brought is becoming too much to bear on Christmas morning, it’s time to use the Christmas tree hiding device.
Need something to wear to the Christmas party? The design pictured proves that even your head can be festive. Not suitable for the Christmas tree.
It’s three days ’til Christmas; it’s time to put your ugly sweater to the very back of the wardrobe and take out more festive accessories. If you prefer your trimmings more on the subtle side than the bauble hat from 20 December, you might like this design-protected fir tree bow tie (not to be confused with the scented tree for your car).
Many miracles are associated with the Christmas season. This even extends to astronomical phenomena.
Thanks to this Christmas manger, you can bring the wonder of the shining star of Bethlehem to your living room.
Unfortunately, every Christmas, there are tragic reports of house and room fires. The patented Christmas tree shown can bring a fire under control thanks to its integrated fire extinguishing device. Please take care this year, too, so that you can enjoy a safe festive season.
The ‘2 x Christmas’ campaign helps those living in poverty. It is run by the Swiss Red Cross, the broadcaster SRG SSR, Swiss Post and the retailer Coop. Each year, the campaign encourages people to donate postal and online parcels of basic essentials to support those affected by poverty in Switzerland, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Switzerland, ‘2 x Weihnachten’ is the 500,000th trade mark registered since trade mark rights were introduced.
You’ve opened the last door of the IPI’s advent calendar. We hope we’ve been able to bring you some cheer and wish you a joyful festive season!
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