When engaging in foreign trade work in the United States, awareness of intellectual patents is very critical. Among the many patent rights and interests, appearance patents are the most common patent category and are also the most widely used among foreign-related patents. Therefore, this article will focus on: Things to note when applying for a U.S. appearance patent, hoping to help Chinese sellers successfully register appearance patents.
1. Under what circumstances can one apply for a design patent?
From the perspective of the patent system, the applied design and the product to which the design is applied must be consistent. Moreover, this kind of appearance patent cannot appear as a decorative pattern, but must be an appearance design of an industrial product and be applied to the functional level of the product. If the Patent Office determines that the patent lacks decorative properties, the seller will not be able to apply for a design patent normally.
At the application level of design products, all design patents must comply with the scope of public morals and must not violate the requirements of the US examination guidelines.
2. Things to note when applying for a U.S. design patent: Legal compliance.
(1) Joint application.
For cross-border e-commerce sellers, applying for multiple similar designs at the same time means obtaining relative protection in one authorized patent. This is the same as applying for patent protection in a design division case.
(2) Design points.
As far as application experience is concerned, design points should not be written too much, otherwise the scope of patent protection will be narrowed and the scope of patent protection will be circumvented.
(3) Application time.
The time to apply for a patent should be before the product is officially marketed and launched, so as to avoid the failure of litigation due to the existing patent becoming a practical technology.
(4) After applying for a copyright patent, apply for a design patent.
For cross-border e-commerce sellers, if the product appearance has obtained copyright registration and protection, they must also apply for an appearance patent in a timely manner.
In short, the above is a complete introduction to “Things to Note When Applying for a U.S. Design Patent”. Cross-border e-commerce sellers cannot apply for U.S. design patents indiscriminately. They must first determine whether they meet the conditions for application; secondly, determine whether the application is compliant? is it legal? Finally, even if you apply for a copyright patent, don’t forget to apply for a design patent to protect your rights.