This article is the fourth of a series of articles written by the attorneys and law clerks of our Firm on various areas of United States intellectual property law. Previous articles are retained in our archives, the records of which may be accessed by clicking on Article Archive . By protecting the non-functional aspects of the way an article looks, the design patent fills a gap between copyright protection for authors and patent protection for inventors. United States Patent law allows inventors to obtain protection for designs on new, original and ornamental articles of manufacture.
Inventors can protect their designs by obtaining design patents.
The term of the design patent is fourteen years from the date of grant. Since a design is manifested in appearance, the subject matter of a design application may relate to the configuration or shape of an article, to the surface ornamentation of an article, or to the combination of configuration and surface ornamentation. An inventor who obtains a design patent is protected against infringement from articles that resemble the patented design. When a court of law determines if an article is infringing it asks whether the article deceives the ordinary observer who gives attention as a purchaser usually gives. Design patent infringement is based entirely on the patented design and does not require proof of unfair competition.