Design Patents – Protect Your Creative Creativity

A design patent registration hong kong https://www.accoladeip.com/hk/en/patent-fee-schedule/ gives you the right to exclude others from making a product that looks like yours. You can use this to block copycat products from entering the market, which is a great way to protect your competitive advantage. A design patent is very different from a utility patent in that it protects only the visual appearance and surface ornamentation of an invention or article, rather than its underlying functionality. In order to obtain a design patent, you need to file an application that satisfies certain criteria.

Eligibility

A design patent is a form of intellectual property that protects an object’s aesthetic appearance. While design patents are often forgotten by some practitioners who focus on utility patents, they can be a valuable tool for protecting the appearance of a useful product.

The USPTO requires applicants of design patent applications to provide drawings of the designs they seek to protect. These drawings should clearly illustrate the entire appearance of the claimed design.

These drawings should be in black ink on a white paper. If an applicant wants to provide coloured drawings or photographs in his application, he must first obtain pre-approval from the USPTO through a petition.

The application should also contain a title that clearly defines the article to which the design is embodied. The title must be a name commonly used in the field to which the design is applied. This allows the examiner to analyze and assign a proper scope for the design protection.

Claims

Design patent registration hong kong are a way to protect the appearance of a product that you have created. They are often used for icons, fonts, and screen layouts on mobile devices.

The most important aspect of a design patent application is the drawings, which illustrate how your object looks and is intended to be used. Drawings should be clear and detailed.

They should include a variety of views, including front, back, right and left sides, top, and bottom. It is also recommended that perspective views be submitted to show the overall shape of a three-dimensional design.

The drawings should be in a consistent style and use surface shading, as well as broken lines, to indicate areas of the object that do not form part of the claimed design. Broken lines are most commonly used to represent the environment and boundaries around the object, but may be used for other purposes as well. This can help narrow the scope of your design patent claim.

Examining a Design Patent Application

Design patents protect the visual features of an invention, such as shapes, patterns and ornamentation. However, they do not protect the actual way an item works or functions.

In examining a design patent application, the USPTO examines the drawings and other information to determine whether it satisfies all the requirements of a valid patent. They will also compare the patented design with other similar objects.

To ensure that the examiner is able to fully understand the design, it should be presented in drawings that include surface shading. This will help show contours of the object and break lines to identify non-claimed elements.

You should submit at least seven illustrations, including one three-dimensional image. The figures should be arranged in a logical manner to deliver all sides of the object design.

Damages for Infringement

Design patent owners can seek damages for infringement under 35 USC SS289 (the design patent disgorgement remedy), which requires a defendant to pay the total profits that it earned from a product to which the patented design was applied. The law is designed to encourage innovation by ensuring that design patentees have predictable, recoupable damage awards.

However, a recent decision by the Supreme Court upsets this recoupable damage award certainty. In December 2016, the Court ruled that under SS289, a “article of manufacture” may include both a finished product sold to consumers and a component of that product (e.g., a screen or bezel).

The Court also rejected Samsung’s argument that the profits owed should be based on the portion of the product that is actually covered by the design patent. This is a serious issue for design patent owners as it may result in fewer overall profit recoveries due to a more fragmented entitlement.

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