Issuance of U.S. Patent Number 9,468,859 to Trina Barkouras.

On October 18, 2016 , the USPTO issued U.S. Patent Number 9,468,859 to Trina Barkouras, which was successfully prosecuted by Novel IP.

The ‘859 patent  is directed towards  an apparatus and kit for creating prints on a surface is provided. The kit includes at least one stamp and a material for depositing the stamp on a surface. The stamp has one or more pieces of sponge adhered to a front surface of a rigid backing material, the pieces of sponge forming a shape desired for printing. A back surface of the backing material has a handle for holding the stamp. The material is a powder that may be partially water-soluble, forming a paint-like mixture or that may form a suspension when mixed. Prints are made by dipping the front surface of the backing material in the paint-like mixture causing the one or more pieces of sponge to absorb the paint-like mixture and pressing the sponge pieces against the surface.

Independent Claim 1 describes “A kit for creating a colored shape on a surface comprising: at least one stamping device comprising a rigid carrier having a front surface and a back surface and an absorbent material adhered to the front surface, the absorbent material being shaped into a predefined form and being adhered such that it extends outward from the front surface; a handle configured to be affixed to said back surface by a user, wherein said handle: has at least one contact portion, said at least one contact portion having a planar surface comprising adhesive; has a pair of grasping portions; and is adapted to be configurable between a first configuration and a second configuration, wherein, when in said first configuration, said handle is designed to lay flat and, when in said second configuration, said contact portions are adhered, via said planar surface comprising adhesive, to said back surface of said rigid carrier and said grasping portions are configured to be handled by said user; a solid, granular material; and, a tray having a top periphery and a base defining a recessed area.”