Choosing the Right Patent
Utility patents, ones that protect how a product functions, and the mechanical aspects of the invention, are usually a patent-seeker’s first choice. These patents offer more protections, and a wider variety of ways to use the patent, so patent attorneys usually promote utility patents over design patents. However, design patents do have their place, and if this intellectual property mechanism is particularly suitable for your idea, then make sure to .
Utility Patent vs Design Patent
So, what is the difference between the two? It is actually relatively simple to understand. Basically, utility patents protect how something works; design patents protect how something looks. As an example, let’s look at a regular teaspoon. For those, you have a handle of some sort, and a (usually) rounded scoop at the end of it, which makes the product a spoon. Unless your invention is a very special spoon with parts unseen before for this particular product, your ideas for a new type of spoon will likely be in how it looks. In other words, you will create a new looking spoon that works in the same old way and, thus, you will require a design patent instead of a utility patent. Of course, if you design a spoon that both works differently and has a unique look, your patent attorney would apply for both a design and a utility patent.
Protection that Overlaps
Because design patents take substantially less time to process than utility patents (months versus, sometimes, years,) some inventors start with protecting the design of their invention. And not only one design, either… some have dozens of design patents on their inventions, as a way to protect their market. The cost for design patents is cheaper than for utility patents, and the protection is weaker, but sometimes it is worth the time and trouble, especially further down the road.
Is this the step you should take? Talk to your patent attorney, let him/her know your thought process and see what the proper course of action is to best protect your idea. You may be able to bring your product to the market in many different ways and designs, as opposed to just one.
