U.S. Patent No. D861,517 S – MWC Edition

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MWC Barcelona 2020 (formerly Mobile World Congress) was set to open February 24 – 27, 2020, in Barcelona, Spain, as the world’s largest mobile industry trade show. However, due to the coronavirus, the trade show was cancelled. There were to be over 200 exhibitors, one of which is Rohde & Schwarz.  A recently-issued patent is U.S. Patent No. D861,517 S, issued October 1, 2019, entitled “Testing instruments, including mobile radio testers, wireless device testers, protocol testers and conformance and preconformance testers and systems.”  The inventors are Guido Apenburg of Ebersberg, Germany, Hermann Groll of Peissenberg, Germany, and Gottfried Holzmann of Zorneding, Germany.  The applicant/assignee is Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG, of Munich, Germany.

Figure 1 illustrates the ornamental design of the testing instrument.

USD0861517-fig1
Source: U.S. Patent No. D861,517, October 1, 2019, to Guido Apenburg, Hermann Groll, & Gottfried Holzmann (inventors); Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG (applicant/assignee)

The single claim is directed to ornamental features of the testing instrument, and not directed to the actual methods or use of the testing instrument itself (35 U.S.C. §171).

The Cooperative Patent Classifications are G01R, measuring eletric variables, namely, arrangements for measuring or indicating electric quantities not covered by other groups, measuring electromagnetic field characteristics (29/08) characterized by the application (29/0807) of field measurements related to measuring influence on or from apparatus, components, or humans (29/0814) for rooms and test sites (29/0821), TEM-cells (29/0828), testing shielding (29/0835), measurements related to lightning (29/0842), and radiation diagrams of antennas (29/085) using anechoic chambers (29/105); H04W, wireless communication networks, namely, supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements (24/00); H04B, transmissions, namely, monitoring and testing (17/00) using service channels (17/0082), and performance testing (17/15).

The functionality of the testing instrument can test all myriad of machines, which explains the broad range of searched classifications.  Nevertheless, the ‘517 patent only protects the aesthetic features of the design, rather than the actual functionality, which would be protected by a utility patent (35 U.S.C. §101).

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