McDonald's puts patent on sandwiches
McDonald's wants to own the rights to how a sandwich is made. The
fast-food chain has applied for a patent relating to the 'method and
apparatus' used to prepare the snack. The burger company says owning
the 'intellectual property rights' would help its hot deli sandwiches
look and taste the same at all of its restaurants. It also wants to
cut down on the time needed to put together a sandwich, thought to
have been dreamt up by the Earl of Sandwich in 1762. The 55-page
patent, which has been filed in the US and Europe, covers the
'simultaneous toasting of a bread component'. Garnishes of lettuce,
onions and tomatoes, as well as salt, pepper and ketchup, are
inserted into a cavity in a 'sandwich delivery tool'. The 'bread
component' is placed over the cavity and the assembly tool is
inverted to tip out the contents. Finally, the filling is placed in
the 'bread component'. It explains: 'Often the sandwich filling is
the source of the name of the sandwich; for example, ham sandwich.'
Lawrence Smith-Higgins, of the UK Patent Office, said: 'McDonald's or
anyone else cannot get retrospective exclusive rights to making a
sandwich. 'They might have a novel device, but it could be quite easy
for someone to make a sandwich in a similar way without infringing
their claims.' McDonald's said: 'These applications are not intended
to prevent anyone from using previous methods for making sandwiches.'
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?
in_article_id=26183&in_page_id=34
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