Press Release
The February 27, 2009 Business section of The New York Times featured the article Snuggie Rode Silly Ads to Stardom Over Rivals. Clifford A. Ulrich, partner in the New York office of Kenyon & Kenyon, was interviewed on the patentability of items such as the Snuggie blankets.
"Clifford A. Ulrich, a New York patent lawyer with the intellectual property firm Kenyon & Kenyon, whose knowledge of the products before he was reached for comment was limited to seeing the Snuggie commercial, said securing patents for such items would be “an uphill battle.”
Mr. Leno’s quip about the products looking like bathrobes worn backward, Mr. Ulrich said, actually resonates legally: because there are many products that are shapeless garments with sleeves, like hospital gowns or religious vestments, and because the sleeved blankets are neither made from innovative materials nor have complicated moving parts, there is little that is proprietary about them from a design standpoint. "
About Kenyon & Kenyon LLP
Kenyon and Kenyon is consistently ranked by peers and in-house counsel as one of the top firms for intellectual property law. Since its founding in 1879, the firm provides its worldwide clients with litigation, prosecution, licensing and counseling services. Large and small enterprises and individuals choose Kenyon to design and implement intellectual property strategies when it matters most. The firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC and the Silicon Valley.