All tagged Design Patent
Provisional patent applications cannot be converted into design patent applications. Thus, another form of protection an inventor should consider early in the patent process is whether design patent protection would be appropriate for any of its intellectual property. Design patents cover visual ornamental characteristics of an article of manufacture. For example, this could apply to the visual design of a product (or portion thereof) or mobile application user interfaces.
When an inventor starts down the path of obtaining patent protection, it is important to understand that the process does not end with an issued patent. Unless superficial protection is desired (e.g., a piece of paper to hang on the wall), patenting an invention is an ongoing process. Inventors should keep at least one application in the patent portfolio pending at all times. When the portfolio is pending, it can adapt as an offensive and defensive tool as the market for the technology evolves. I call this ongoing process “proactive patent prosecution.”
