As 2020 continues to drag on, more and more people are becoming anxious to return to their old routine and social life. That includes partying. Off Campus Social, an event planning company focused on college students, is attempting to bring partygoers back to the dance floor a bit sooner. Their recent invention (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 20200329792) allows mask-wearers to enjoy food and beverages without taking off their mask. The new mask has a flap over the bottom portion of the mask, which is connected to the rest of the mask by a clasp or magnets. When the wearer wants to eat or drink, they just need to unclasp the flap and chow down. It should be noted that while opening the flap would temporarily negate much of the effectiveness of the mask, it would be more convenient for many people than taking the mask off entirely, especially for those on the go. Off Campus Social also has recently filed a trademark for SippyMask™, which may sound like it's for children having their snack break, but is more likely to be marketed to adults.
This is Off Campus Social's first patent in the pandemic sector and represents a continuing trend for companies of a variety of backgrounds seeking patents in global health for the first time in light of COVID-19. While more and more companies are entering the global health space, that doesn't necessarily mean the space is becoming more crowded. Instead, much of the activity seems to be creating new markets more so than crowding out previous players. Previous insights have highlighted Aebeze Labs and Facense as just two of a variety of companies that have begun to form a market for mobile software solutions for global health.
For more updates on new entrants into the global health market, check out the free interactive visual Pandemics Patent Forecast® offered by Magic Number.
