Utility patents protect what things do. Design patents protect how things look. Design patents have existed for well over 100 years: “[w]homever invents any new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent therefor … .” So the design patent only applies to an ‘article of manufacture;’ that is, a physical product, and only […]
Tag Archives: Design Patents
When is a Chair just a Chair?
December 9, 2021
Trademark
When is a chair just a chair (and not a trademark)? The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or “TTAB”) recently considered this question in an opinion on whether Herman Miller, Inc. (“Herman Miller”) could claim trademark rights in a famous chair design dating back from the 1940s when Charles and Ray Eames developed a technique for molding […]
When is a Design Obvious?
September 2, 2021
Patent
When most inventors think of a patent, they think of a better-mousetrap type patent, known as a utility patent. A utility patent protects what an invention is and how it works. U.S. Patent 269,766 for a mousetrap that plugs a mouse with a bullet from a .44 is an example of a utility patent. Our […]
Ask Dr. Copyright© Protecting a Cookie
March 25, 2021
Trademark
Dear Doc: Me want to protect cookie. How can do that? Signed,A Certain Monster Dear Mr. Monster: A recent case from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals may help you to understand how cookies are protected. More than 50 years ago, Ezaki Glico Kabushiki Kaisha developed “Pocky” – a thin, elongated biscuit partially covered with chocolate. About […]
Bling and the Ordinary Observer Test
January 21, 2021
Patent
Utility patents protect what things are, how they work, or ways of doing things. An example is the guillotine mousetrap that works by, well, the name says it all. Design patents protect the ornamental design of a product, for example this mousetrap that looks like a demented cat. The topic this month is design patents. Let’s say that […]
Lanyard Toys created a popular ‘chalk pencil’ that looked like a stubby pencil but that holds chalk. Lanyard protected the invention with a design patent. Remember that a design patent protects the appearance of a product, but not what it does or how it does it.* Lanyard began selling its chalk pencils through a distributor to Toys-R-Us. […]
The Abstract Design
February 13, 2020
Patent
No, I’m not referring to a Cubist masterpiece. Consider the following: After long, hard work, you’ve created a great design, say, the design above. Eureka! Your design would go great with anything. You can see it on chairs, on baskets, on car seats, on bridges, on tattooed biceps everywhere. Just think of the possibilities. But everyone else will want to use […]
Supreme Courts Decides Apple v Samsung (just kidding)
January 19, 2017
Patent
Speaking of Apple v Samsung, the Supreme Court issued its decision in this long-running litigation about design patents. To recap, Samsung copied the design of Apple’s iPhone and infringed Apple’s design patents in the process. There is no question whether the Apple patents are valid – they are. There is no question whether Samsung infringed […]
The Functional Design Patent
May 15, 2016
Patent
If you have patents or have been involved in patenting, then you have heard about the difference between design and utility patents. The explanation probably went something like this: A utility patent protects how a thing does what it does. A design patent protects the appearance of the thing. And: A design patent cannot […]
Patenting Replacement Parts and Consumables
March 28, 2016
Patent
Entire industries are built around the business model of a cheap product and expensive consumables for that product – think ink jet printers, electric toothbrushes and shaving razors. Controlling replacement parts also is a lucrative sideline for manufacturers of big-ticket items – prime examples are automobile fenders and other collision repair parts. So why don’t […]
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