Hasbro has applied and has successfully secured a brand new patent for an anti-theft, anti-tamper packaging for their toy figures.
Published on November 25th, this new patent may very well be a step in the right direction to prevent rampant toy tampering due to Hasbro’s new eco-friendly packaging with plastic-less open windows. What’s interesting is the fact that the locking mechanism is a part of the toy itself.
Official description at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):
A package can include a product display panel to which a product is to be secured, the product display panel comprising an opening for receiving a product locking assembly. The product locking assembly can include a locking element having a peg and an extended portion extending from the peg, and the extended portion comprising first and second spaced apart projections, and a receiving element disposed in or attached to the product, the receiving element comprising an aperture having a first end and an inwardly disposed second end. The locking element is adapted to fit through the opening and be inserted into the receiving element to a first position such that product display panel is secured to the product and the first projection extends past the second end of the aperture of the receiving element to prevent the locking element from being removed from the aperture, and the locking element being further adapted to be further inserted into the aperture after removal of the product display panel from the product to a second position such that the second projection extends past the second end of the aperture of the receiving element.
The above sounds like a lot of words, but we’ve attached some images from the patent application to help you understand the solution better.
In addition to the anti-theft and anti-tamper features of the new packaging design, the patent also highlights a feature to prevent returning a different toy in place of the original that was in the packaging. Once taken out of the package, the locking mechanism (known as ‘The Key Lock’) is permanently pushed into the toy to make it less obvious. This will prevent the toy from being reattached back into the packaging. If the toy is not reattached, the store can identify if the toy is used or a different toy is in place of the original. The seller can also examine if the locking mechanism is removed.
The only downside of this mechanism is having a visible mark of the lock on the toy itself. However, Hasbro may design the toys to have the lock, less obvious.
It is likely that we will see this new application on future Hasbro toys including Transformers and G.I. Joe.
SilverOptimus says
News Post: Hasbro Applies For A Brand New Anti-Theft, Anti-Tamper Packaging Patent
Jinx723 says
Interesting...
I?m sure eventually someone will find a way around this. It will be on YouTube on how to get around it and the slimey cork sucker, sun of a bastiages will continue repacking toys.
FNL4EVA says
wow... So the actual back of the toys will be looking whacked... Then no plastic window huge issue many like myself prefer sealed and protected but open packaging will hurt sealed collectors. I bet real reason is cause of shortages and they raised $3 for this? Hasbro had to yet again ruin stuff in a big way... Non keep sealed collectors still getting butchered backs. Hasbro is like konami to me...
sisco says
I can see this being useful on the huge transformers and the large open box figures.
Not sure how this will work on 6 inch and smaller scales. Going the clamshell packaging route seems like a cheaper and more effective route to me on those sizes. Adding a back locking mechanism to the Marvel Legends size figures seems really expensive and adds a possible unsightly blemish on the back when they could just go back to clamshell packaging. Stores can always tell when clamshells have been opened and returned.
captain mal says
Don't blame Hasbro for this one. This is all at the hands of the woke world environmentalists. This will need to be done to keep Hasbro's ESG score as low as possible. The future world economy is going to change a ton of stuff - and we aren't going to like it.
Have you seen that one Black Mirror episode with Bryce Dallas Howard? ESG scores are like that - but on a global corporate level.
Firefly73 says
All they would need to do to reduce 89% of their plastic usage is to reduce the stupidly large size of the Star Wars TVC bubbles. Ehhh what do I care, I'm done with TVC.
Mainframe77 says
Does it protect the figure from ?smash and grabs??
wehrmanm says
For all the times we've gone into stores and have seen returned figures with a hodgepodge of fake accessories in the box, the incorrect figure returned because some chud didn't want to pay for a limited edition Dusty Rhodes, so they crammed a Cowboy Bob Orton in the box and returned it someone who doesn't know or care enough at Wal-Mart, this is an impossibly obvious net benefit for Hasbro.
You buy it, you open it, you own it. Simple as that.
Besides, we already saw "eco friendly" packaging in the Hiss III box. It's not tamper proof, but it is the necessary and unavoidable future.
Griff says
So now hasbro figs are gonna have some janky ass tab on the backs of figures ? They must wanna go bankrupt cause i know i sure as fuck am not buying that kinda shit.
Mainframe77 says
I?m sure all this is to prevent ?in store? tampering. Nothing can really stop the buy it, take it home, open it, replace what?s inside and return it. Only humans at the return counter can stop that and it?s not easy since they don?t necessarily know what any of this stuff inside....like difference between Dusty Rhodes and Bob Orton.
I think all stores want to minimize shrink in general but they all have an acceptable level and the goal is simply to keep it under that. All consumers pay the price with rising prices when it becomes higher than the accepted levels.
Keep reading: Hasbro Applies For A Brand New Anti-Theft, Anti-Tamper Packaging Patent - Page 2
Not a member yet? Join HissTank Now!