Star Trek design patents Design patents are a type of issued under . ( Other jurisdictions have similar protections but they are called different things . ) The patent is granted based on the unique appearance or concept of an item rather than its " usefulness " . Design patents typically are sought for items where the appearance is as – or more – important than the underlying craftsmanship itself . So , things like jewelry , toys , furniture , car parts , etc . are frequently granted design patents . Design patents have a life in the US of fourteen years from the date of issuance . Their main usefulness is as a supplement to copyright protections . Whereas someone claiming a copyright in a work can prevent actual " copies " being made , a design patent can more easily be used to prevent the unauthorized creation of " similar " items which are not actually copies . Neither protection is absolute , but some counsel believe that having both is important where even the hint of similar design is a threat to the value of the original design . From through , Paramount Pictures sought and obtained various design patents for " Star Trek " designs . There seem to have been no other filings after 1987 , and Paramount ' s legal department instead probably feels comfortable with existing copyright protections . In each instance of a design patent at least one " inventor " has to be listed . The inventor can never be the corporation , it has to be an individual or individuals . It is sometimes interesting to see who gets credit for what on the official documents . Costumes . The very first design patent issued on for " Star Trek " was for the duty uniform from . Filed for in , it depicts the " ornamental design for a costume , substantially as shown " . It is colorless ( US patents are in black and white ) , is missing the uniform patch ( the subject of a separate patent ) , and shows the rank of captain . It also has some subtle differences from the actual costume : a collar layer is missing , the pants leg attaches to the shoe a little differently , and stitching is exaggerated for clarity . But none of that has any legal significance ; " substantially as shown " is what they really meant . It is amusing to note that in the required research performed by the Patent Office to see whether this design is truly original , they reference a Montgomery Ward catalog , evidently for children ' s footed pajamas . This is the " perscan " device , described in a footnote in the of as a scanner - transceiver that monitored and transmitted a person ' s vital signs to sickbay at all times . This was called a " belt buckle " in the patent . It appears to be a highly accurate representation of the actual device used in the movie . This is the duty uniform from , or in patent - speak " the ornamental design of a costume " . As with the uniform from " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , this one appears to be Kirk ' s based on the pips on the sleeve . Although very accurate in some ways ( it shows stitching not readily seen on - screen but present in the costume ) , some elements of the insignia are rather crudely drawn . Again , due to the " substantially similar " text this would not affect the enforceability of the patent . This is the " new " Starfleet insignia used in " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " ; the one used for purposes of the patent was the pin worn by Kirk on his Admiral ' s uniform . Because the claim was – as always – " substantially as shown " , the fact that fabric patches were also used is irrelevant . The design was the design was the design ; copy in any medium at your peril . For the " Other Publications " section ( the prior art against which this is compared for originality ) the patent examiner cited " The Making of Star Trek " . This is the landing party jacket from " Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan " . Clasps , pockets , and various ornamental areas can be seen in detail . It appears very close to the final design used in the film . Toys . This is the design of the Vulcan shuttle " Surak " from " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . It does not show the shuttle detached from the warp - capable " sled " ( that ' s the next patent ! ) , but does contain some general surface detail . Since it was not a real ship , it had to be called a " toy spaceship " for purposes of the patent application . This is the shuttle portion of the " Surak " from " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . It was another " toy spaceship " , and except for the bottom view is identical to the shuttle part of the Vulcan shuttle . It is odd that the examiner did not actually reference the prior - issued patent since they are so similar . It is also odd that Paramount would have gone to the trouble of breaking out the shuttle separately but " not " the warp - capable sled . Possibly there were plans to market it as a standard Starfleet shuttle . Designated a " toy weapon " , this is the redesigned phaser for " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . Its control panel is a different configuration from any photos that exist , though - possibly an early design as it was filed in April of 1979 . It also has a very definite clip for hooking onto a belt or belt loop . The clip may not have existed on all of the " hero " props , but at least one hero had a clip , as can be seen at racprops . com . The clip may have only been used when the phaser was to be attached to a costume . This one is a " toy communicator " . One of only two wrist communicator types in " Star Trek " ( the other being used in " Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan " ) , this is very similar to the final product used in " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " but for the application of signage . The patent pointed to a 1964 Dick Tracy comic strip as prior art for the design . ( The patent examiner didn ' t actually read newspapers from sixteen years prior looking for similarity in design ; he copied the reference from a 1968 patent he also used as a reference . ) As the Patent Office does not recognize the term " tricorder " , this is called a " toy console " . This is the " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " redesign , and like the communicator did not have signage ( other than the numbered keypad ) . It is very close to the final prop , except that the sensor units ( shown in Figure 4 ) are nothing like the ones used in the film . This is the refit of the from " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . Despite the number of people who contributed to the overall design , first and foremost original designer Matt Jefferies , only Andrew Probert is listed as the inventor . As prior art the examiner referenced a toy listing from 1976 of the original " Enterprise " . This patent relies heavily on the " substantially as shown " provision , as it is the same as the final model only in the gross details . For example , the warp engines are much more cylindrical ( although only in some views ) than in the ship as seen in the movie . The patent was filed in , at which point the art seems to have been in a state of flux . This is the Klingon Empire ' s starship , although this name was not used in the actual filing and the design lacked virtually all of the surface detail that distinguished it from the D7 class , which was actually " and " entirely the brainchild of original designer Matt Jefferies . Nonetheless , this was applied for as part of the " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " group of design patents , again with only Andrew Probert listed as the inventor . This one barely made it out before " Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan " premiered two months later . Even though it is almost identical in every respect to the original series Klingon battle cruiser , the patent examiner did not reference any images of it in his or her review . Technically this could have presented someone with the ability to challenge the patent as having been improperly issued – for example Jefferies himself most obviously – , but the question apparently never came up . This is the . The drawing is of similar quality to the " Enterprise " refit patent , inexplicably still including the same rounded nacelle s . The prior art cited by the patent examiner for this one is interesting . Of course there is the prior " Enterprise " patent , a 1979 JC Penny Christmas catalog with a toy " Enterprise " , and – also from the Penny ' s catalog – the " Millennium Falcon " . ( Lucasfilm has also patented a number of designs over time , including the X - wing , Yoda and C - 3PO , but not the " Millennium Falcon " . One might wonder if it an application for such a patent was rejected for being too similar in overall design to the " Reliant " . There is also a potential timeliness issue related to filing after first use , but since the X - wing got one at D254080 . . . ) This is a " toy animal " to some , a Ceti eel to others . This " ornamental design for a toy animal " is the creature Khan put in Chekov ' s and Terrell ' s ears in " Star Trek II " . It looks very much like the puppet in the movie , and the patent shows nicely the rare underbelly of the creature . The patent examiner was really reaching for past art on this one ; he cited a 1966 patent for a turtle - shaped bath sponge . This phaser design , used in , was patented as well . The patent drawing is very close to the finished prop , more so than the " Motion Picture " phaser patent . The examiner did not reference the earlier phaser patent in their search , probably due to the radical design differences between the two . This is the Klingon hand weapon from " Star Trek III : The Search for Spock " . Like the phaser from the film , this drawing is very much like the final prop used . Issued the same day as the Klingon hand weapon is the combination of the hand weapon and a shoulder brace for it from " Star Trek III : The Search for Spock " . Like the hand version , this is classified as a " toy weapon " . The " toy communicator " from " Star Trek III : The Search for Spock " . The final communicator prop differs slightly from this patent . The final antenna grill doesn ' t have the bend in it like that shown in the design patent . There is also a sliding switch on the right side interrupting the midplate ; it is unclear whether this feature made it into the hero version of the prop . Of interest is that the design patent for the communicator from " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " is cited as past art , despite there being virtually no design similarities between the two . The from " Star Trek III : The Search for Spock " . The art on this one is very close to the final model in most respects and based on the study model as built by Bill George . Ironically , George ' s study model was very different from the concept art by Rodis - Jamero for the vessel . Past art examined to see if this was an original design included the design patents for the Vulcan shuttle , the " Enterprise " refit , the Klingon ship , and the " Reliant " . Of interest is the fact that Nilo Rodis - Jamero was also listed as the inventor of the Klingon Bird - of - Prey patent ( below ) and the patent for Boba Fett ' s spaceship " Slave One " under design patent D268773 . Issued the same day as the patent for the USS " Excelsior " , this one is the Klingon Bird - of - Prey from " Star Trek III : The Search for Spock " . It is very similar in all respects to the final model used for filming purposes , again based on a study model by Bill George , though in this case Rodis - Jamero ' s overall configuration concept was largely followed . The first of three patents applied for on to be issued was the . Probert ' s own prior patents for starships were cited as past references , as was the " Reliant " . This is very close in design to the final version , but as usual without insignia , signage , and the like . The hypospray used during TNG , DS9 , and VOY was the subject of this design patent . Other than color and signage it is very close to the prop originally used . This is the only design patent that was not expressly assigned to Paramount Pictures in the issued patent itself . That does not mean that Rick Sternbach owned it ( it expired in 2005 ) , as he could have assigned it through other means . But it " is " a curiosity . Filed with the Patent Office just days before the premiere of , it would be more than four years before it was approved and issued . This one is for the TNG version of the Type 1 Phaser : the " cricket " phaser . This design is quite close to the actual prop , including button placement . The patent issuance was something of a hollow victory for Paramount as it came out during the fifth season of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , when use of this type of phaser had long ago been abandoned by the production staff . This is the last known " Star Trek " patent to have been issued to date . Other . This is an ornamental design for a calligraphic font , first used in " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . With minor alterations from time to time it has been used in productions , books , and advertising from 1979 until today . This is a " Container for Desk Top Materials Or Similar Article " . That is how the US Patent Office refers to a photon torpedo casing . It may typically contain antimatter in the series , but it appears that Paramount may have intended at some point to market the item most clearly identified at the time with Spock ' s coffin as a container for pens and pencils . The complete patents . United States patents are public information once issued ; anyone can obtain a copy through a variety of means . One of the easiest is through the use of this site . Simply input the patent number above , remembering to use the " D " in front , and the patent will be viewable as a PDF file .