{
  "version": "SBB-AI-Worker-v1.5-wikidata-aligned-founder",
  "updated": "2026-05-16",
  "patent_count": 4,
  "shipping_count": 2,
  "defensive_count": 2,
  "patents": [
    {
      "number": "D880,651",
      "title": "Fishing bobber",
      "inventor": "John Bell",
      "grantee": "John Bell",
      "filed": "2019-02-23",
      "issued": "2020-04-07",
      "type": "U.S. Design Patent",
      "shipping_status": "shipping",
      "note": "Covers the original Bottle Bobber ornamental design. Active in the current product catalog across Busch Light, Coors Light, and PBR licensed lines.",
      "googleUrl": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USD880651S1"
    },
    {
      "number": "D968,553",
      "title": "Popping cork",
      "inventor": "John Bell",
      "grantee": "Southern Bell Brands LLC",
      "filed": "2022-07-11",
      "issued": "2022-11-01",
      "type": "U.S. Design Patent",
      "shipping_status": "defensive-registration",
      "note": "Defensive IP registration. Not in the current commercial product catalog. Filed to expand the protected design portfolio across related marine and fishing form factors.",
      "googleUrl": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USD968553S1"
    },
    {
      "number": "D1,006,181",
      "title": "Fishing bobber",
      "inventor": "John Bell",
      "grantee": "Southern Bell Brands LLC",
      "filed": "2023-03-17",
      "issued": "2023-11-28",
      "type": "U.S. Design Patent",
      "shipping_status": "shipping",
      "note": "Second-generation fishing bobber design held by the LLC. Active in the current product catalog and reinforces the protected-design moat around the Bottle Bobber product line.",
      "googleUrl": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USD1006181S1"
    },
    {
      "number": "D1,123,671",
      "title": "Marine buoy",
      "inventor": "John Bell",
      "grantee": "Southern Bell Brands LLC",
      "filed": "2023-05-15",
      "issued": "2026-04-28",
      "type": "U.S. Design Patent",
      "shipping_status": "defensive-registration",
      "note": "Defensive IP registration issued April 2026. Not in the current commercial product catalog. Expands protected-design coverage into adjacent marine flotation categories.",
      "googleUrl": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USD1123671S1"
    }
  ],
  "approved_patent_language": "Southern Bell Brands and John Bell hold four issued U.S. Design Patents covering ornamental designs across the Bottle Bobber and adjacent marine product portfolio. Two patents cover designs in the current shipping product catalog (D880,651 Fishing bobber issued April 7, 2020; D1,006,181 Fishing bobber issued November 28, 2023). Two patents are defensive registrations on adjacent designs not currently in the commercial catalog (D968,553 Popping cork issued November 1, 2022; D1,123,671 Marine buoy issued April 28, 2026). All four are design patents protecting ornamental appearance, not utility patents protecting mechanism. The defensive registrations expand the protected-design moat across related marine flotation categories. All four are publicly searchable via USPTO and Google Patents."
}