The Richwood Report

In our efforts in the Engineering Department to ensure that Richwood employees and friends are complying with all applicable legal requirements, we are advising that it is probably safe now to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This decision has denied the claim of J. M. Smucker that they own the crustless sealed PB&J. Ordinarily, items of personal diet are not a matter of company policy but in this case, the improper manufacture of a PB&J could involve the company if the sandwich were to be made or consumed on the job. Specific items of design covered by the disputed patent are
.

A sealed crustless sandwich, comprising:
a first bread layer having a first perimeter surface coplanar to a contact surface;

at least one filling of an edible food juxtaposed to said contact surface;

a second bread layer juxtaposed to said at least one filling opposite of said first bread layer, wherein said second bread layer includes a second perimeter surface similar to said first perimeter surface;

a crimped edge directly between said first perimeter surface and said second perimeter surface for sealing said at least one filling between said first bread layer and said second bread layer;

wherein a crust portion of said first bread layer and said second bread layer has been removed.

Seriously, the Patently O Blog is a good source for current developments in the field of patent and intellectual property issues. If you have the stomach for it, so to speak, the full text of the patent is here. For the record, nothing on this blog should be construed as legal advice by anyone. Consult your own lawyer before making any major decision--or a sandwich.