If you have an idea for a product, a design patent registration hong kong https://www.accoladeip.com/hk/en/patent-fee-schedule/ may be a good way to protect it. It’s relatively easy to file, and it has a shorter term than utility patents (currently 15 years) and does not require maintenance fees.A design must be both novel and non-obvious to be patented. It must also not affect the function of the object.
Eligibility
Design patent registration hong kong provide protection for an inventor’s creative inventions that are novel and nonobvious. They are less expensive and require fewer specifications than utility patents, but the inventor must meet certain requirements in order to obtain them.
For a design to be eligible for a patent, it must qualify under one of the following four categories: novelty, nonobviousness, and functionlessness (nonfunctional). In other words, the design must not have been obvious to someone who understands the technical field in which the invention falls.
In the United States, a design must be “novel.” This means that the design must not have been disclosed in prior art, or it should not have been obvious to a skilled person in the relevant field.
A design must be independent and distinct from other designs. For example, two vases that are different in appearance must be filed as separate applications. However, a modified form or embodiment of a single design concept may be filed in one application.
Claims
While a utility patent focuses on an invention’s functionalities, a design patent seeks to protect a new and original ornamental design. In this way, a design patent is often considered more like a fashion or cosmetics patent than a technology patent.
Because a design patent seeks to protect only the overall look of an object, a design patent application must include drawings that depict the object in its best light. This requires deliberate and careful preparation, as non-essential lines should be eliminated or redrawn in broken lines prior to filing the application.
When the drawing disclosure is presented, the examiner may compare it to references known as “prior art” to see if the claimed design is obvious. If it is, the examiner may reject the design. However, the applicant can respond to a rejection by adding more explanation and resubmitting additional drawings, if necessary (see 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR SS 1.121).
Requirements
Design patents are used to protect a new, original commercial design for products. This can prevent a competitor from introducing a product that looks exactly like yours, which can be dangerous to your business.
However, design patents can only be granted if the design is genuinely new and does not merely mimic an existing art object. The design must also be ornamentally pleasing.
The USPTO defines “ornamental” as a feature that is not merely functional. That means the item’s overall appearance must be non-functional, purely form (shape or configuration) and not based on its function.
The most important part of a design patent application is the drawings. These drawings must be clear and complete. They should show the object’s contours and should include surface shading. They should also have broken lines, which define the boundaries of your design.
Filing
A design patent is an additional protection that may be used to supplement the trademark and copyright rights on a product. It is an excellent way to stop competitors from infringing the design of your product, and can force infringers to pay a royalty, disgorge their profits, or stop selling their infringing products altogether.
A patent application must include drawings that depict the claimed design. This can be a difficult task, and applicants are strongly encouraged to seek the assistance of a qualified draftsperson who specializes in design patent drawings.
The drawings should depict the appearance and shape of the article in question, demonstrating that it is substantially identical to the embodiment shown in the drawing disclosure. Straight-line surface shading and stippling are commonly used to convey the contour and character of an object, and broken lines may be employed to show environment and boundaries that form no part of the claimed design.
The appearance and shape of a design must be distinct from other features of the article, or from similar articles, in order for it to be considered independent. Modified forms and embodiments of a single design concept, however, may be filed in one application as long as they appear to have the same appearance and shape.
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