A design patent protects a new, original, ornamental design for an article of manufacture. 35 USC section 171. “Ornamental” means that the design is purely decorative; the patentability is based on ...

“While patenting a website’s computer implemented methods presents tricky Section 101 issues, the GUI’s of those sites are surprisingly easy to patent via design patents.” A common question I get is ...

Christopher Carani draws on Apple’s smartphone litigation with Samsung to try and distinguish what kind of designs are likely to be found to infringe While some will debate whether Apple v Samsung ...

“For those unfamiliar with the quirks of design patent practice, it might be tempting to rely on your patent draftsperson to prepare what they think are adequate drawings, copy the mostly boiler-plate ...

The USPTO issued significant new supplemental guidance (Guidance) on March 13, 2026, updating its rules for design patent protection of computer-generated icons, graphical user interfaces, and ...