Tang is an energy drink formulated by General Foods. It was touted as a breakfast drink when it came out. Consumers were not enthusiastic about it, until NASA started using it on its Gemini flights. Sales started picking up once the public started associating Tang with the astronauts. Now, Tang is available in 30 different flavors, and is owned by Kraft Foods.

The original orange flavored Tang was made in 1957 and the first powdered form was available in the market by 1959. Nowadays, Tang contains many artificial sweeteners, like Sucralose and Neotame. Also, Tang is available in much more concentrated form. Yes, it has changed a lot, to keep up with the changing expectations of the public.
And, Tang is also being touted as a dishwasher cleaning agent by consumers (of course, Kraft Foods does not recommend it!).
So, who invented Tang?

One thing which is certain is that, the inventor of Tang worked at General Foods (obvious)! And, multiple people may have been involved in the invention of Tang.

One of them is William Bruce James, a chemist who worked for General Foods. He also invented several Jell-O flavors. Another person who was involved with the invention of Tang is William A. Mitchell, who also invented Pop Rocks. William Mitchell has been involved with around 70 patents. These two seem to be the key people involved in the invention of Tang, according to the available information.

This article was published at Inventions: Inventors . IntellectualVillage.com brings you interesting patents and inventions from all over the world. It also provides free resources for inventors.

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Patent, trademark, copyright - we hear these three terms very frequently. Many don’t know that there is a distinct difference between filing for a patent and filing for a trademark. Same with copyright.
Let us analyze the differences between a patent, trademark and a copyright.

Patent

When can you file for a patent? If you have a novel and un-obvious invention, or a novel and un-obvious improvement to an existing invention, you can file for a patent. A patent can be of different types. To see the different types of patents, see our previous article here: Different types of patents.

Filing a patent usually gives you protection for 14 to 20 years, depending on the type of patent. Filing a patent is an expensive proposition, and it should be done only if you are sure of the market value of the invention.

Trademark

A trademark, to explain simply, is a brand name. A trademark is something which forms part of a product or its packaging, and is used to distinguish it from others in the market. It can be a word or a symbol.

Copyright

A copyright is a right given to the creator to exclude others from copying or publishing or reproducing his or her works. A copyright is applicable to music, movies, drama, software, paintings, and many other fields.

One point to note is that even if there is a copyright, it cannot cover the entire subject matter. Let us take the example of a copyrighted book. You cannot copy specific wordings from the book, but you are free to read the book, understand it, and publish any of the ideas or concepts in your own words.

So, the bottom line is, one size does not fit all. There are situations where a simple copyright will protect your work. At some other times, you may need a trademark to protect your USP. And, if you have just invented that “killer product”, it certainly makes sense to go for the additional expenses for patenting it.

This article was published at Inventions: Inventors . IntellectualVillage.com brings you interesting patents and inventions from all over the world. It also provides free resources for inventors.

The different types of patents are provisional patents, utility patents, plant patents and design patents.

Provisional Patents (PP)

A provisional patent application (PPA) allows filing without a formal patent claim. It establishes a filing date for you.

So, if you have an idea, and if you do not have the time and resources needed for filing a patent, you can go for a provisional patent. This will establish your date of application.
Beware though - the actual patent should not differ significantly from the provisional patent description.

Utility Patents

Utility patents are the most common types of patents. They are usually valid for around twenty years, except in the case of drugs, medical devices, etc.

Plant Patents

Plant patents can be taken for the plant varieties which have been asexually reproduced. These patents may include mutants, hybrids, seedlings, etc. They are also valid for around 20 years.

Design Patents

Design patents refer to new original ornamental design for an article to be manufactured. The USPTO definition follows:

“A design consists of the visual ornamental characteristics embodied in, or applied to, an article of manufacture. Since a design is manifested in appearance, the subject matter of a design patent application may relate to the configuration or shape of an article, to the surface ornamentation applied to an article, or to the combination of configuration and surface ornamentation. A design for surface ornamentation is inseparable from the article to which it is applied and cannot exist alone. It must be a definite pattern of surface ornamentation, applied to an article of manufacture.”

This article was published at Inventions: Inventors . IntellectualVillage.com brings you interesting patents and inventions from all over the world. It also provides free resources for inventors. Please send your feedback to: info at intellectualvillage.com - we will really appreciate it!