Food Seasoning Patentable?

[CurtisS]

Can a food seasoning be patented? If someone copies your food seasoning, like all the ones on store's shelves and sell it themselves under their own brand, is there anything you can do? You always hear about companies like bushes beans and KFC keeping their recipe a secret. That tells me they can't protect it, so if someone found out what it was, someone else could duplicate it legally. Thoughts?

 

[quincy]

Can a food seasoning be patented? If someone copies your food seasoning, like all the ones on store's shelves and sell it themselves under their own brand, is there anything you can do? You always hear about companies like bushes beans and KFC keeping their recipe a secret. That tells me they can't protect it, so if someone found out what it was, someone else could duplicate it legally. Thoughts?

Secret recipes are generally protected under trade secret laws.

It can be possible for a food invention to qualify for a patent.

Someone can attempt to duplicate a "secret" recipe and market it under their own brand name.

Are these questions posed out of a general curiosity or are your questions related to a real-life situation you are involved in personally?

 

[Zigner]

US law only.

 

[quincy]

US law only.

CurtisS has been a member since 2008 and, unless he has changed locations, he lives in Texas.

 

[FlyingRon]

Patents are required to be novel and non-obvious. In most cases just coming up with a distinctive recipe doesn't meet the standards. A list of ingredients is not an invention. A novel process might be. Just altered combinations of spices would not meet the requirements.

 

[quincy]

Patents are required to be novel and non-obvious. In most cases just coming up with a distinctive recipe doesn't meet the standards. A list of ingredients is not an invention. A novel process might be. Just altered combinations of spices would not meet the requirements.

I was thinking of sushi wraps and Fruit Roll-Ups when I spoke of food patents but you are right that ingredients on their own would probably not qualify for a patent.

Here to show what is required for recipes to be patented is information from the USPTO on "Can Recipes Be Patented?"

http://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-advice-1

It is possible to a certain extent to keep an invention confidential, at least during the patent application process, which can keep a trade secret a secret until a patent issues. If a Nonpublication Request is filed with the application, the trade secret can be preserved in case a patent is not granted. But there is a trade-off for trade-secret holders if a patent IS granted. The secret eventually will no longer be secret.

Generally the best most trade secret holders can do to protect their secrets is rely on non-disclosure/confidentiality agreements - which are often enough to protect the secret because the penalties for disclosing the secret can be harsh. But any agreement is only as good as those entering into them, so a certain amount of trust between parties is necessary.

 

[FlyingRon]

No arguments there Quince, just didn't want the OP to think his secret blend of eleven herbs and spices was going to be patentable.

 

[justalayman]

I was thinking of sushi wraps and Fruit Roll-Ups when I spoke of food patents but you are right that ingredients on their own would probably not qualify for a patent.

Here to show what is required for recipes to be patented is information from the USPTO on "Can Recipes Be Patented?"

http://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-advice-1

It is possible to a certain extent to keep an invention confidential, at least during the patent application process, which can keep a trade secret a secret until a patent issues. If a Nonpublication Request is filed with the application, the trade secret can be preserved in case a patent is not granted. But there is a trade-off for trade-secret holders if a patent IS granted. The secret eventually will no longer be secret.

Generally the best most trade secret holders can do to protect their secrets is rely on non-disclosure/confidentiality agreements - which are often enough to protect the secret because the penalties for disclosing the secret can be harsh. But any agreement is only as good as those entering into them, so a certain amount of trust between parties is necessary.

I understand there is new law regarding trade secrets. (Defend Trade Secrets Act) that allow some greater protections for trade secrets as well as reading that recipes can now be patented if the recipe meets all the criteria to qualify for a patent (from what I can understand new law under the Americans Invent Act) I can't find a ton of it but most writings i could find relate it to trade secret recipes such as Coca Cola and kfc.

Am I misunderstanding what I'm reading about these new laws or is there some truth to what I've been reading?

Eta; while not directly related to the question at hand, it appears there is some good news for small time inventors: micro entity status.

http://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-advice

 

[quincy]

I understand there is new law regarding trade secrets. (Defend Trade Secrets Act) that allow some greater protections for trade secrets as well as reading that recipes can now be patented if the recipe meets all the criteria to qualify for a patent (from what I can understand new law under the Americans Invent Act) I can't find a ton of it but most writings i could find relate it to trade secret recipes such as Coca Cola and kfc.

Am I misunderstanding what I'm reading about these new laws or is there some truth to what I've been reading?

Eta; while not directly related to the question at hand, it appears there is some good news for small time inventors: micro entity status.

http://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-advice

The USPTO link you provided is the one I provided the live link to earlier. It has good information.

Although most recipes will not qualify for patent protection, patents have been issued for recipes for years. You have egg substitutes and freeze-dried foods and chewable tablets, to name only some of many, that all were granted patents. It just takes more than a mix of ingredients to make a recipe novel, non-obvious and patentable.

The America Invents Act is also known as the Leahy-Smith Act or the Leahy-Smith AIA. It was enacted in September of 2011. Although numerous changes to patent laws were made with the Act, the Act's modification with perhaps the greatest impact on inventors was the change to a "first to file system" from the old "first to invent system." This change puts the US in line with most other countries. Other AIA changes included the assignee of a patent being able to file the application for the patent instead of the inventor having to file, higher fees (of course ), and the patenting of humans is now banned.

The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 amends Chapter 90 of Title 18 of the US Code. It was enacted on the 11th of this month and it allows for federal protection of trade secrets in addition to the protection offered trade secrets under state laws (the state laws of which can vary in significant ways).

Here is a link to the text of the Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1890/text