U.S. Design Patent Term
In the United States, design patents are an important legal tool for protecting the design of a product. Design patents typically relate to the appearance, shape, texture and color of a product. An applicant who holds a design patent can obtain exclusive rights to his or her design for a certain period of time, preventing others from using, making, or selling products with similar designs without a license. This article will introduce the term of the U.S. design patent and related notes.
First of all, according to the U.S. Patent Law, the term of a design patent is 15 years. This means that an applicant holding a design patent can enjoy exclusive rights to its design for 15 years after obtaining the patent. During this period, the applicant holding the patent can protect its patent rights through legal means and, if necessary, pursue the infringer's legal liability.
In addition, it should be noted that a design patent does not cover the functional part of the product, but only the exterior design. In other words, even if the functional part of the product has been protected by other patents, the applicant can still apply for a design patent to protect the appearance of the product. This means that even if the patent term for the functional part of the product has expired, the design patent can still be valid until the expiration of its 15-year term.
In addition, a design patent application requires attention to the novelty and non-obviousness of the product. This means that the applicant's design must not be too similar to existing designs and must be innovative to a certain extent. Therefore, before applying for a design patent, the applicant needs to conduct sufficient market research and patent search to ensure that the design complies with the patent law.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that after the expiry of the term of the design patent, the design will enter the public domain and anyone is free to use and make the design. Therefore, applicants holding design patents should consider other means of protection, such as brand image building and trademark protection, before the expiration of the patent term.
In summary, the term of a U.S. design patent is 15 years, and the applicant may enjoy exclusive rights to his or her design during the term of the patent. When applying for a U.S. design patent, you need to pay attention to the novelty and non-obviousness of the design, and you need to consider other forms of protection after the expiration of the patent term. Hopefully, this article can help you better understand the information related to U.S. design patents.
EN 
ZH_TW 
ZH