Craft project: ribbon blanket

by Melissa Summers (Subscribe to Melissa Summers's posts) Aug 13th 2005 2:39PM

Two young mothers realized their children were more interested in the satin tags on toys, clothes and blankets than the objects themselves. So they created, and patented, a soft security blanket with satin tags along all four sides. They call their product 'Taggies' and they retail for $25. If $25 seems a little steep for a fleece receiving blanket with small ribbon tags along the edges, here's a great tutorial at Craftster for a 'Ribbon Blanket'. If you can sew a straight line you can make your own tagged blanket as a gift or for personal use at a much lower price. (*Remember, the design is patented by the Taggies company and can not be made for sale.) Happy crafting!

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Comments (9)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ElizabethN 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

Is the design really patented? Or did you mean copyrighted?

MelissaS 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

It really is patented. Here is the link

It may be possible to find a loop hole in the patent, but the site even offers rewards for people reporting 'knock-offs'.

anon 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

If only they were recieving blanket sized. In case anyone doesn't know, Little Taggies are 12" x 12" and Big Taggies are 18" x 18". These are tiny!

My daughter loved hers from about 3 months - 7 months, but now doesn't care at all.

Jay Allen 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

What's patented (Patent No. 6,427,265) is Taggies as an "interactive blanket and pillow for children":

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,427,265.WKU.&OS=PN/6,427,265&RS=PN/6,427,265

It covers the two-sheet design plus the placement of the tags. The actual patterns on the pillows can't be patented, only (maybe) copyrighted.

But IANAL. I leave that stuff to Elizabeth. :)

MelissaS 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

Thanks Jay, that was the link I intended to publish. I'm sure there's a way around the patent, but most crafters don't want to be bothered with a corporation breathing down their necks.

The Taggies company offers a reward for tips on knock offs being sold.

see here: http://www.taggies.com/authentic.html

AJ 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

IMHO, a patent doesn't mean much these days. Don't get me wrong. They are great for suing people, but the US patent office hands out patents like candy. To make a claim against this patent you first need prior art (for example, that someone was already making a substantially similar product prior to the patent application being filed).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_art

*cough* Someone could buy a blanket and take a one day sewing workshop, and remember to not invite any snoops into their home.

My daughter's only interest in tags is to suck on them... so I clip tags off everything I give her. I'd never buy a product that thought of tags as being a feature.

ElizabethN 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

Interesting! So many people use the word "patented" incorrectly, so I wondered.

But the patent covers making a taggie blanket for your own use, as well as for sale - there is no "fair use" doctrine for patents like there is for copyright. It's unlikely that individuals would be sued, but the company could probably go after the publisher of the pattern you linked for inducing infringement, if it makes a blanket covered by the patent.

(Obviously, no one should take this as authoritative legal advice. I have not studied the scope of the claims of the patent or its file history.)

Dacy 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

This is very true- and there are plenty of people that find it worth their while to seek out crafters that are making these blankets and sew them. I recently made some and tried to sell them on E-bay, not knowing about the patent. I had someone warn me, this person is still dealing with the lawsuit. A little research shows there is a lot of info out there about this type of thing going on. So just be careful and take the matter seriously

Dacy 12-18-2005 @ 6:34PM

This is very true- and there are plenty of people that
find it worth their while to seek out crafters that are making these
blankets and sew them. I recently made some and tried to sell them on
E-bay, not knowing about the patent. I had someone warn me, this person is
still dealing with the lawsuit. A little research shows there is a lot
of info out there about this type of thing going on. So just be careful
and take the matter seriously

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