In July 2023 the Girl Scouts of the USA held its National Convention in Orlando, Florida where Beusse Sanks, PLLC’s home office is located. We had a chance to attend and were amazed at the STEM-related activities and information. Among scores of other booths, representatives from Blue Origin (including a space capsule!), the NAVY, the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Secret Service were there. We were especially excited to see that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) had a booth.
The Girl Scouts are no stranger to intellectual property, owning over 60 “live” trademark registrations for various services and cookie brands such as “RASPBERRY RALLY” (registered July 4, 2023 for the infamous new cookie), “TOAST-YAY!” “THIN MINTS” and “TREFOILS”. Plus, “GIRL SCOUT COOKIE PROGRAM” for use with “Educational services, namely, conducting cookie-related programs and activities for girls to promote entrepreneurial skills, business management, and intellectual growth and development.” Other registrations include “GIRL SCOUTS” and “BROWNIE” (for educational services “for girls to promote social, physical and intellectual growth and development”, first used in 1938), and the below logos:
Of course, intellectual property includes more than a trademark portfolio. Patents and copyrights are additional forms of IP. With regard to copyrights, the Girl Scouts of the USA, combined with multiple regional/local Girl Scout councils, have registered over 500 different works with the Copyright Office.
The founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, was also an inventor who obtained two patents: a design patent for the trefoil badge shown below, and a utility patent for a disposable “liquid-container for use with garbage-cans or the like.”
At the Girl Scouts National Convention, the USPTO booth promoted the Girl Scouts “IP Patch” and also provided information on Juliette Gordon Low and other female inventors. The USPTO website also has a detailed biography of Low.
Below are trading cards and images from the booth:
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