Abstract:
It may sound incredible, but a patent was recently awarded to a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich. This article is a comment on the state of the United States patent system.
Great inventions have changed the world, fueling the advancement of science, forging new
industries, igniting the popular imagination, and improving the overall quality of life
in society. A controversial newcomer recently joined the ranks of the light bulb,
telephone, and the television, innovations upon which the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) has bestowed its official approval and protection: Patent
No. 6,004,596, the crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The
legal dispute over the sandwich patent suggests that the United States' current system
of awarding patents is in need of a serious overhaul.
Article I, section 8 of The Constitution of the United States gives Congress the power
to enact laws relating to patents, and provides that "Congress shall have power . . . to
promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to
authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."
A patent for an invention thus vests the inventor with a legally protected property right,
usually for a period of 20 years. The stated mission of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is to represent the government in all domestic and global
aspects of intellectual property, through the preservation, protection, classification,
and dissemination of patent information.
Supreme Court Justice Noah Swayne in 1880 set a high standard for the awarding of a
patent when he wrote that a patentable invention should be inspired by "a flash of
genius." However, the standard has been lowered substantially since then, such
that a new patent need only be "non-obvious." So what of the crustless peanut butter
and jelly sandwich? Although people have been enjoying peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches for decades, sometimes with the crusts removed, David Geske and his friend
Len Kretchman, of Fargo, North Dakota, insist that the crustless peanut butter and
jelly sandwich was invented in 1995, when they were preparing lunch for their
finicky children. The two created a product called the Incredible Uncrustable, a
version of the sandwich with the crust trimmed and the edges folded over. Greske and
Kretchman sold their product to jam manufacturer Smucker, which is now embroiled in a
legal dispute with Albie's, a small company selling a similar product on the
market. Albie's sued Smucker to have the patent deemed
invalid. Shortly thereafter, Smucker countersued for patent infringement.
The battle over the Uncrustable raises numerous questions about the future and
relevancy of the USPTO. Has the granting of a patent lost its significance if
a humble sandwich can rise to the plane of intellectual property? Is there an
alternative way to protect the development of new technologies from illegal
use? Although in today's media-driven world, imitation seems to swallow up
innovation more often than not, one can only hope that there may still be a
place for special recognition of that rare "flash of genius" that truly deserves
the prestige and security of Constitutional protection.
