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Tag: design patents

Blog posts about design patents.

  • Featured Idaho Patent: Firearm

    Featured Idaho Patent: Firearm

    U.S. Design Patent Number D1,110,455 – Firearm

    Every Tuesday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office publishes newly granted patents. This blog post is part of a weekly series in which I pick an interesting new patent that has Idaho connections and briefly describe it.

    Inventors: Cory J. Newman (Smithfield, UT), James Ian Sandercock (Boise, ID), Nolan Blake Young (Boise, ID), Jeremy Gerald Abell (Boise, ID)

    Assignee: Evolved Gear LLC (Boise, ID)

    Today’s featured patent is a design patent. As opposed to utility patents, which have extensive write-ups, design patents are all about the drawings. No information about the functionality of the invention can be included, because the subject matter of the design patent is the ornamental design only.

    This doesn’t mean that a functional item cannot be covered by a design patent–if the appearance of the device is tied to its functionality.

    In design patents, it’s important to prepare views from multiple perspectives to properly depict the three-dimensional shapes and features of the device.

  • Featured Idaho Patent: Miniature football helmet bottle liquid bottle pourer

    U.S. Patent Number D663,575 – Miniature football helmet bottle liquid bottle pourer

    Every Tuesday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office publishes newly granted patents. This blog post is part of a weekly series in which I pick an interesting new patent that has Idaho connections and briefly describe it.

    Inventors: Randal J. Carroll (Woodstock, GA), L. Holden Morgan (Ketchum, ID), Rex A.  Robinson (Hailey, ID)

    This week’s featured Idaho patent is a design patent for a “miniature football helmet liquid bottle pourer.” As is the case with all design patents, the claimed subject matter is what the patent drawings depict (as opposed to utility patents, in which the claimed subject matter is a text-based description.

    Traditionally, design patents have been rarely used. Recently, however, patent applicants have filed design patent applications in increasing numbers. Because design patents only cover ornamental qualities of an article, this type of patent can often overlap (and complement) copyright and even trademark-based protection. In some cases, a sound intellectual property protection strategy should take advantage of such overlaps to maintain product branding and distinctiveness.

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  • Are You Intellectual Property-Aware?

    Many small and medium business owners don’t know the difference between trademark and copyright, patent and trademark, or design patent and trademark–much less which of these types of IP they actually own. As a result, many business owners miss out on the competitive advantages that come hand-in-hand with their IP rights. They miss out on potentially lucrative opportunities because they don’t know how to leverage their IP assets. The United State Patent and Trademark Office has recognized this common ailment and come to the rescue with the Intellectual Property Awareness Assessment Tool.

    The IP Awareness Tool assesses one’s IP knowledge, identifies holes in that knowledge, and then directs the participant to resources to help shore up those deficiencies. The tool is a great way for people to learn what they don’t know. As I took the assessment, I could see how each category of IP was assessed with simple, non-legalese questions. I would recommend to any business owner who is not sure of what IP she may own to take the assessment.

    The assessment includes the following categories:

    • IP Strategies & Best Practices
    • Trademarks
    • Copyrights
    • Design Patents
    • Trade Secrets
    • Utility Patents
    • Using Technology of Others
    • Licensing Technology to Others
    • International IP Rights
    • IP Asset Tracking

    After you have taken the assessment, please let me know through the Contact Page what areas you lack knowledge in (responses will be kept confidential), and I will write blog posts in the future to help you out!

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