A design patent can be defined as, “a granter to the inventor’s rights and how the invention actually looks like”. Design patent is meant for protecting the appearance of the invention, it is only given to the unique investor and only to the invention that is something new. Design patent are not concerned with how the invention is constructed or the materials that it consists of, it only has concern with the aesthetics of the invention. Usually a design patent gives the protection of fourteen years to the inventor. Design patent gives protection to the appearance of the invention.
To get a design patent you have to convince the patent office that this design is unique of its kind; nothing has been invented like this before. Design patent office are very rigid regarding the issue of patent design, they doesn’t issue it until they find the patent design a unique one. A reproducible design is one more criterion for a design patent. Since the design patent is based on the manner the object looks, a request will be more preferential when it is able to show that the product’s appearance is a result of artistic ability or exact technique.
Types of patents-
We can say that the general rule of a patent is that they must be uniquely created bye man. I think that was a pretty broad statement, so let’s talk about it in detail:
- Articles of manufacture and mechanical device- The dictionary meaning of a mechanical device is,” a mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles”. As simple as said, create a unique and useful machine, and you can get provisional patent application accepted.
- Processes- You can have a good candidate for a patent, simply if you can make a better process for doing something.
- Chemical compositions- Creating an effective and new combination of chemicals to solve problems and design patent them is a multi-billion dollar industry, new drugs fall under this category.
- Computer programs- Say, if a company started a business of ordering things in 1-click through internet, and they get patent it. So, there after no other website can use their proprietary system without obtaining permission and paying royalty to them.
- Genetic organism- It is a new ear of encoding DNA but still up for debate.
- Improvements- If you don’t have a brand new idea to get provisional patent application, don’t worry then also you can be in the list as the vast majority of patents are for existing ideas which are improved and projected.
- Surface ornamentation- You don’t have to make something which is better from other patents, it just needs to look different.
- Plant patent- It is meant for the botanist, who works with asexually reproduced plants and desire to get a provisional patent application.