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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, I saw Michael Crichton this morning on GMA
promoting his new book NEST and learned that our genes can be patented and are!
Some illnesses have been! Seems to me that we need to keep a closer eye on the
patent office.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:52
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] McDonald's Files
for Patent on the Sandwich: MoreAttempted Corporate Thivery</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1952246,00.html">McDonald's Files
for Patent on the Sandwich</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=5></FONT></STRONG></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=5></FONT></STRONG></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=5>Can nobody make a sandwich
like McDonald's?</FONT></STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=5> </DIV>
<P><STRONG></STRONG></P>
<DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2><STRONG>David
Adam</STRONG><BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2><B>Monday
November 20, 2006</B><BR></DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif
size=2>
<P><B>Guardian</B></P>
<DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>It has been the food of
monarchs and commoners ever since John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich,
first pressed some meat between two slices of bread and took a bite. Billions
of butties later, the fast-food giant McDonald's has set its sights on his
invention. The company has filed patents in Europe and the US that claim the
"method and apparatus for making a sandwich" as its intellectual
property.</FONT> </DIV>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>Patent application WO2006068865
relates to the "pre-assembly of sandwich components and simultaneous
preparation of different parts of the same sandwich". It covers the
"simultaneous toasting of a bread component" and heating a "meat and/or cheese
filling". And it says the company has invented a way to add garnishes and
condiments using a "sandwich assembly tool".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>The patent says McDonald's wants
to cut down on the time and labour required to put its sandwiches together.
The company also wants them to look and taste the same and has come up with
what it describes as "novel methods" to put them together.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>The assembly tool contains a
"cavity" into which the sandwich-maker places the garnish ("including, but not
limited to, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, chilli, coleslaw, giardinera,
peppers, spinach, radishes, olives, egg, cooked bacon and cheese") and the
condiments ("ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, sauces, relish, oils, salt, pepper,
barbecue sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce, dressings including salad dressings,
yogurt, butter, margarine and liquid or semi-liquid cheese").</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>A "bread component" is then
placed over the cavity and the assembly tool "inverted" to tip out the
contents. "Typically, a sandwich filling will thereafter be placed in the
bread component," the 55-page patent explains. "Often the sandwich filling is
the source of the name of the sandwich, for example - ham
sandwich."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>It also describes how to make
cocktail sandwiches, by taking a full-sized version that is "cut up into
smaller pieces".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>Lawrence Smith-Higgins of the UK
Patent Office said: "McDonald's or anyone else can't 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 would not comment.</FONT> </P></FONT>
<P>
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