Design Patents

1. Introduction to Design Patents

There are a couple of options you can consider to protect your rights:

You may have a copyright if your works fall into certain artistic classes (such as literature, sculpture, paintings or photography). However, copyrights afford somewhat narrow rights since any minorchange to your design could result in the loss of protection. Moreimportantly, the more the creation has a utilitarian function outsideof your specific design, the less likely it may qualify as anaesthetic work of art (which is the typical subject of copyrightprotection). A design patent, on the other hand, is intended toprotect the design of an industrial article. It covers the aestheticfeatures of your creation and gives you more leeway in enforcement.Under U.S. patent law, another object that’s found to be substantiallysimilar to yours in design would be infringing.

A Design Patent’s broader scope offers more protection than acopyright and the application process is less complex than a utilitypatent. You can also claim patent protection when it comes time tomass market your product.

There are distinct differences between what sort of inventions areeligible for design versus utility patents. It’s important to decideif you qualify first. If your creation can be protected by either adesign patent or copyright, you may want to look into both options.For more information on copyrights, please click here and for utilitypatents, click here.

In any case, Xirxi Business design patent education center providesyou with the resources you need to understand the functions andadvantages of a design patent. If you decide to seek this type ofprotection, you can complete our online design patent questionnaire inabout 30 minutes. Simply answer a few questions, and we take care ofthe rest. Xirxi Business can even help you obtain the technicalillustrations to accompany your application