ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,696,880, issued on Aug. 4, was assigned to Sera Werke Heimtierbedarf J. Ravnak GMBH & Co.KG (Heinsburg, Germany).
"Free-standing pond" was invented by Andrew Paxton (Taunton, Great Britain).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A free-standing pond (10) is provided to allow access to the pond by wildlife, the pond comprising a first staircase (50) leading up the outside of the pond, and a second staircase (70) leading down the inside of the pond, wherein a crossing area (60, 62) is provided joining the top of the first and second staircases, and wherein the depth of the treads (72) of the second staircase are substantially greater than the depths...