Happy Birthday Girl Scouts!

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend

Two weeks ago, we celebrated National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend with a discussion of licensing agreements and cookie trademarks.

Girl Scouts of the United States (GSUSA)

This Sunday, the Girl Scouts of the United States (GSUSA) turns 105! Juliette Gordon Low returned to Georgia after several years in the UK (where she was a close friend of Lord Robert Baden-Powell -- the founder of the Boy Scouts -- and his sister, Agnes) saying, “I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America, and all the world, and we’re going to start it tonight.”

She formed the first two American Girl Guide patrols on March 12, 1912 by registering eighteen girls to play basketball, hike, camp, swim, and tell time by the stars during a time when this behavior was not considered proper for “young ladies.”

Besides being a progressive force for social change, Low also contributed to the intellectual property system by being an inventor. Yes, an inventor. In fact, the USPTO even honors her contributions with an Inventor Trading Card!

Patents Held by Low

So what did the Girl Scouts founder invent? She held two patents during her lifetime: a utility patent for a liquid container to use in trash cans and a design patent for a badge shaped like a “Trefoil” symbolizing the three parts to the Girl Scout Promise. The Trefoil design is now a registered trademark of GSUSA and has identified its members for over 100 years.,Juliette Gordon Low's patent for a paper trash can liner

Celebrate the Girl Scouts' Birthday

You can help your children celebrate the Girl Scouts' Birthday by following the instructions in Patent 1,124,925 and creating your own paper trash can liner. The USPTO has some great STEM activities available for rainy day science projects.

Conclusion

Juliette Gordon Low's trash can liner patent may have fallen into the public domain more than 80 years ago, but her greatest invention of all continues to endure. Happy Birthday, Girl Scouts!