Ep #4: Intellectual Property in the Cartoon World of The Simpsons - Brands and inventions in the Springfield Universe
This week on IP Goes Pop! Volpe Koenig Shareholder, Randy Huis, joins Michael Snyder to talk about inventions and technology in the cartoon world of “The Simpsons” television show.
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In this episode, Michael and Randy discuss whether and how it would be possible to protect intellectual property from the imaginary and always entertaining town of Springfield.
Timestamps:
00:46 Cartoons and IP
02:10 Inventions in the Springfield Universe
02:30 Wiki | Fandom
03:32 That Disastrous Car Homer Simpson Designed Was Actually Ahead of Its Time (Wired magazine online, July 2, 2014, https://www.wired.com/2014/07/homer-simpson-car/)
04:00 Protecting a car that is “powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a sponge ball.”
05:20 Design Patent protection overview
14:05 Famous inventors, older inventions, and public use
14:19 Wiki | Fandom
15:49 Prior Art and Inventorship
19:58 Patent term and expiration
22:36 Cartoon world meets the legal world
23:26 Hologram at Comic-Con Draws Patent Lawsuit (Exclusive) (The Hollywood Reporter online, August 15, 2014, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/homer-simpson-hologram-at-comic-725830)
Hologram Lawsuit Settled (Variety online, Feb 26, 2015, https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/homer-simpson-hologram-lawsuit-against-fox-settled-1201442620/)
U.S. Patent Nos. 5,865,519 and 7,883,212
26:28 The Internet and Domain Names
26:31 Wiki | Fandom
29:31 Character Rights
