A group of food scientists from Oklahoma State University have applied for a patent for an entirely new cut of steak. They call it the Vegas Strip Steak. This is a brilliant marketing strategy that I wish I would have thought of first. The idea that some savvy business people could patent a cut of beef that has existed inside cattle for millennia intrigues me. I love a good steak, but I like making a buck even more.
I'm not an intellectual property lawyer, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I don't know if they'll actually get their patent. I did a little reading on the process, however. If you're interested, there are good articles on Slate.com and Freakonomics.com.
They have their own website for the steak HERE and the picture makes my mouth water a little. I am a tad bit skeptical, however, because people have been slaughtering beef cattle for a long time. If no one has isolated this particular steak yet, I'm guessing that is probably better utilized as hamburger, like it has been for hundreds of years. But, like I said, more power to the innovators who are trying to capitalize.
3 comments:
If the "inventors" try to patent the steak as a "business method patent" they might have a shot at it. I am not an IP lawyer, but my understanding is these types of patents can be obtained even for something "obvious" like this. As described in the freakanomics website, they patent the knife strokes that create the steak, not the steak itself. And I imagine they can trademark the name.
They have already trademarked the name. That's a great name for a steak.
Okay, now I'm a little curious. What does the cut look like? For that matter, why is it so special that they had to patent it?
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