Pepperoni and Hearts

As with any themed holiday, Valentine’s Day has its own unique suite of patents. One such novel invention is the “Heart Shaped Pepperoni Slice” (USD491338S1). As the name indicates, it is a patent for an ornamental design for a heart shaped pepperoni slice which among other things can be utilized as a pizza topping (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: an illustration of a pepperoni slice from the original patent application

Applied for by William C. Arbaugh on the 24th of March 2003 to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and was granted on the 15th of June 2004. Poetically, the legal protection of this patent expired on the 14th of February 2020, which is Valentine’s Day.