Sunday, December 03, 2006

McDonald's tries to patent the sandwich!

FoxNews reports:
If McDonald's gets its way, breaking out the mayo to garnish that favorite sandwich might be more than unhealthy. It could also violate a patent.

The fast-food giant has submitted patent applications in the U.S. and Europe for the "method and apparatus for making a sandwich."

The restaurant chain wants exclusive rights to certain ways of making specific sandwiches and hamburgers, maybe the same ones millions of Americans make at home everyday. With the goal of keeping their speedy-preparation methods out of the hands of their competition, the company may not realize what this means to the average Joe who packs a lunchbox everyday.

Contained in the 55 page application are instructions for various sandwich types, including a "Method of Making Various Toasted Deli-Style Sandwiches." These include the proper order of adding garnishes, the preferred way to heat the "filling" (meats and cheeses), and the specifics of how such "components" are added to bread.
Utterly ridiculous, but yet somehow not at all surprising!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I laughed out loud when I head this, truly.

But if Monsanto can patent a stain of wheat barley or flax, then why the hell not I suppose. It’s a sign of the ridiculous times we live in where big business governs the ruling of the land. Just awful what happened to some farmers in North America.

I’m expecting to wake up one morning by a knock at the door only to find some conglomerate multi-national asking for their due royalties because they patented the human genome only the night before.

If I’m not mistaken, Mc D’s only wants to paten the procedures for making the sandwiches?

Anonymous said...

I guess I will move to the King and the Girls.