No one else puts a burger together quite like McDonald's - or, at least, that's what McDonald's thinks. The company has put in a patent application (WO2006068865) in Europe and the US that tries to stake the company's exclusive claim to their sandwich preparation methods.
If you have ever gone behind the scenes at McDonald's you will immediately notice the posters that visually describe the components of each sandwich to the cooks, but the process is more complicated that just a photo - especially if you follow the instructions in the patent application. Apparently, it involves the "pre-assembly of sandwich components and simultaneous preparation of different parts of the same sandwich." Bread (a.k.a. the "bread component") is toasted while a filling is heated. Condiments and garnishes, from ketchup to tomatoes and bacon - are put into an "assembly tool" and added, together, to the sandwich. And it is the making of sandwiches, not the making of "McDonald's burgers" that the 55-page application tries to claim in the name of the company, noting "often the sandwich filling is the source of the name of the sandwich, for example - ham sandwich."
A spokesman for the UK patent office said that, while they may be able to claim their "assembly tool" as unique, neither they nor anyone else can gain the exclusive rights to making a sandwich.
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