Product Design Patent or Design Patent at the Patent Authority

Product design patent or design patent application to be submitted to the Patent Authority? Entrepreneurs who design a new product may be interested in protecting the design of their new product. However, they may be unaware of how they can protect the design of the product with a patent or design patent.

Some inventors are told that it is not possible to protect a new design, as it is simply a design, without technological qualities. Although it is true that it is impossible to protect the design through the normal channels of patent application at the patent authority, this is not to say that the design cannot be protected. The Patent Authority has various departments, one of which is the design department. This department is where an application should be submitted to register a design.

Design patents and patents as leverage for product development, i.e. the protection granted by a registered patent or a registered design may help the entrepreneur’s business venture. The rights to protection granted by the intellectual property he owns can help promote his business.

The design of a new or original product can be accepted as a design patent, offering protection for a period of 15 years from the filing date of the design patent, if it fulfills all the legal requirements. The examination is carried out by an examiner from the design patents department.

In some special cases, when not only the design is protectable, but it is a new invention that adheres to the conditions of Patents Law, the product can be granted a patent. It may be able to also receive a design patent for its design.

Before developing and designing a product, it is worthwhile to consult a patent attorney who can check if a design patent application can be submitted, or if the conditions for a full patent are met. Sometimes following the development and design of the product, both a design patent application and a patent application can be submitted.

The above information is not complete; therefore it is advisable to consult with a patent attorney for each individual case to allow him to direct the entrepreneur regarding how to proceed.