I'm extremely proud to announce the formal filing of our non-provisional patent for Countdown. This is a utility patent covering the game mechanics of a hide & seek toy. If approved, it will provide 20 years of protection for any toy in a similar vein. We are so excited at the thought of joining the ranks of Simon, Bop-IT, Battleship, Rubik's Cube and other staples of play that enjoyed exclusivity and protection on their transformative ideas and the lucrative results innovation can provide.

The patent process began more than a year ago. On February 2nd, 2019, we filed a provisional patent application covering the gameflow mechanics of Countdown. That provisional application put a stake in the ground with our ideas and allowed us to publicly disclose what we were doing. This non-provisional application is the formal filing which will be reviewed by the USPTO. If approved, we'll enjoy protection through January 31, 2040.

It's been a long process to get here. A year ago, we performed a very exhaustive look at existing patents (active, expired and abandoned) as well as the overall market for products that may implement similar mechanics but were not patented. We, as a company, along with our patent attorney were unable to find any previous art that directly applied to our flow of a hide & seek game with additional game elements. In the year since, we've kept refining and updating our product and the patent application, narrowing in and ensuring coverage of all the ideas we are implementing. It's been a long, but rewarding road.

Where possible, we plan to apply for utility patents on all of our toys as those provide the largest protection on the ideas of what we're doing. Additionally, we'll be applying for design patents on the final designs. Between both, we'll be able to reliably protect our products from imitators.

Countdown will be launching later this year. Invest $100 now, and you'll own a part of our intellectual property.