Design Patent
What does "Design Patent" mean in law?
A design patent protects the new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture under 35 U.S.C. section 171, lasting 15 years from the date of grant (for applications filed after May 13, 2015). Unlike utility patents that protect function, design patents protect only the visual appearance of an object, and the claim is typically embodied in the patent drawings rather than written text. In Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics (2012), design patents played a central role when Apple successfully asserted that Samsung had infringed the ornamental design of the iPhone, raising important questions about how to calculate damages for design patent infringement that ultimately reached the Supreme Court.
Definition
A design patent protects the new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture under 35 U.S.C. section 171, lasting 15 years from the date of grant (for applications filed after May 13, 2015). Unlike utility patents that protect function, design patents protect only the visual appearance of an object, and the claim is typically embodied in the patent drawings rather than written text. In Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics (2012), design patents played a central role when Apple successfully asserted that Samsung had infringed the ornamental design of the iPhone, raising important questions about how to calculate damages for design patent infringement that ultimately reached the Supreme Court.
Example
Apple obtained a design patent covering the iPhone's rounded rectangular shape with a flat glass face and bezel, protecting the phone's distinctive ornamental appearance rather than its technological functionality.