Besides obtaining utility patents for their business methods on the Internet, many companies are filing design patent applications to protect their web site user interface. Commonly, web pages are protected through copyright protection because of the long period of protection and the ease of copyright registration.
Companies are also heavily investing in their web sites.
Nearly half of the Fortune 1000 have a web presence today. Patent protection for the user interface will afford greater protection to the patent owner. Copyrighting a menu structure or user interface became questionable when U.S. Supreme Court allowed a First Circuit opinion to stand where a menu hierarchy within a computer software application was found to be uncopyrightable. Clients that are web site operators should be advised to obtain a design patent on their web site user interface. Web sites are very similar to the menu hierarchy of the Lotus case so copyrighting the user interface may be struck down.