|
|
A PATENT APPLICATION FOR THE APPEARANCE OF SOMETHING
(Reflects Government Fees effective October 1, 2007)
Design Patent. A design patent is for a new and
nonobvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture. This includes
a design for an ornament, impression, print, or picture applied to or
embodied in an article of manufacture. It further includes a design
for the shape or configuration of an article of manufacture.
However, a picture standing alone is not patentable.
- Do I need a design, utility or plant patent? See the FAQ that describes "What is Patentable"
in each type of patent.
Protection. A design patent protects only the
appearance of an article, and not its structural or functional
features.
DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION REVIEW
Proceedings. The proceedings relating to
granting of design patents are basically the same as those relating to utility
patents.
Drawings. The value of a design patent is
largely dependent upon the skillful preparation of the drawings.
Drawings are normally required to be submitted in black ink on white
paper. Photographs are acceptable only in applications in which the
invention is not capable of being illustrated in an ink drawing or where
the invention is shown more clearly in a photograph. Color
photographs or drawings are also not permitted unless there is a good
reason, a petition and additional fee is filed and the petition is
granted. When it is urgent to get a filing date, color
photographs/drawings can be submitted, but these will be considered by the
Patent Office to be informal drawings and will have to be replaced by
amendment to the application.
DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION COSTS
Costs. Expect a design patent application to
cost about $1,170 through filing. The $1,165 includes attorney fees
of $950 plus estimated filing costs for a small entity of $220 ($440 for a
large entity).
United States Patent and Trademark Office filing and patent issuance fees
for a design patent add about $410 for a small
entity ($820 for a large entity). There is no publication fee
for a design patent. Also, no fees are necessary to maintain a
design patent in force. United States Patent and Trademark Office
filing charges may vary.
(According to the American International Property Law Association 2007
Economic Survey, the typical attorney fees in 2006 for preparation of a
design patent application are $1,500.)
Services After Filing. Attorney fees for a
small entity after filing are charged at the rate of $150 per hour. The
Law Firm's large entity hourly fee is $250 per hour. Patent
prosecution activities after filing are similar to a utility
application, but are usually much less complex. If the Patent Office
examination leads to a determination that an applicant is entitled to a
design patent under the law, a notice of allowance is sent to the
applicant’s attorney, calling for the payment of the issue fee.
Attorney fees for filing the allowance papers are $250.
DESIGN PATENT LIFETIME
Patent Lifetime. A design patent has a term of
14 years from grant.
DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION UNIQUE ASPECTS
Patent Application Structure. The specification
of a design application is short and ordinarily follows a set form. Only
one claim is permitted, following a set form. The drawing of the design
patent conforms to the same rules as other drawings, but no reference
characters are allowed and the drawing should clearly depict the
appearance, since the drawing defines the scope of patent protection.
PCT - Patent Cooperation Treaty? No. International
design patent applications may not be filed under the PCT.
Provisional Applications? No. One may not
file a provisional design patent application.
Design Applications Published? No. Design
applications are not subject to application publication after 18 months as
are utility applications.
PROCEEDING TO A DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION
How to Proceed. Telephone (703-242-1247) or email Louis Ventre, Jr. with a
short description of the design you want in your application. If the Law
Firm has no conflicts and agrees to represent you, you will be sent a
retainer agreement with additional instructions on what information is
needed. As with utility patents, a preliminary search of U.S.
patents and U.S. applications will be done to make a judgment on
patentability. After you receive the preliminary patentability
determination, if you then decide not to submit an application, your
retainer will be refunded less any cost the Law Firm had to pay the charge
card company to process your credit card payment (if any) of the retainer.
INFRINGEMENT OF A DESIGN PATENT
Design Patent Infringement. To have
infringement of a design patent, two conditions must be present:
- The ordinary observer would regard the accused design to be
substantially the same as the patented design without regard to the
functional aspects of the design. However, one looks to the
overall similarity and not an element-by element comparison. One
should not focus on the minute details or small variations in
configuration, but rather on the overall design. For example, if
an ordinary purchaser would be deceived, inducing him to purchase one
supposing it to be the other, then first one patented is infringed by
the other. Functional aspects are those that are "essential
to the use or purpose of the article or if it affects the cost or
quality of the article." And,
- The accused device appropriates the "points of novelty" in
the patented design that distinguish the design from the prior
art. If each of the alleged “points of novelty” or
non-functional features of a patented design was disclosed in prior
art, there can be no infringement, even if there is no suggestion to
combine the features from the prior art.
MORE INFORMATION ON PATENT APPLICATIONS
More Answers on Patents. A vessel hull design
may also be registered under a copyright law as explained on the Law
Firm's copyright page. See the FAQ page
for more questions answered on patents, the plant patent page
for information on plant patents, and the Utility
Patent Details page for general patenting details.
Home | How
to Communicate | Email to: lventre@lventre.com | Useful
Links
Client
Inventions | Bio | FAQs | Index | Search | Disclaimers
Click Here to Fill-In a Web Form Email
© 2004 Louis Ventre, Jr.
This file last modified 01/04/08.
This page is http://www.lventre.com/detailsdesign.html.
|