Additionally, the Plant Variety Protection Act provides protection for novel varieties of sexually reproduced plants. Utility Patents Utility patents are by far the most common variety of patent in this country. Utility patents are granted for new and useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. The inventor of a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a design patent for his invention. The general purpose served by granting design patents is to encourage the decorative arts in improving the appearance of articles of manufacture in order to increase their salability and satisfy the aesthetic sense of the purchaser.
Design patents are enforceable for a term of fourteen years from their issue date.
Designs that are primarily functional or primarily dictated by functional considerations are not patentable. A design patent application is generally much shorter and simpler than a typical utility patent application. The design application must include drawings containing a sufficient number of views to constitute a complete disclosure of the appearance of the article. The drawings are the most important part of a design patent application, as infringement is decided solely by comparing the accused article with the drawings in the design. Plant Patents Plant patents are the least used, and least understood area of U.S. patent practice.