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Apply for Patent: Filing A Design Patent
What type of patent do you have? Did you even know
that there were different types of patents out there that you could be
filing for? Those that have a new idea or have come up with a plan to
accomplish something need to make sure they get that plan down, in
writing and submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office
as soon as possible. By doing this it will help to prevent your idea or
invention from being used by others whether just by chance or by the
fact that you allowed someone else to know about it. The fact is that
getting a patent is a necessary thing to do and the process for getting
one does not have to be challenging or overwhelming.
Do You Have A Design Patent?
For those that are going to be filing a patent, it is important for you
to know which patent is the right one to file under. You see, when you
apply for a patent, you will be submitting an application for it through
the governmental agency of the United States Patent and Trademark
Office. The process requires a great deal of paperwork and a good
amount of time to complete. Unfortunately, with a design patent, you
will need to submit it directly to the office as they do not allow for
these patents to be done through their EFS or Electronic Filing System.
For a design patent, you will need to have a very specific type of
invention. That is, it will need to be something that is a new item, an
original item and something that is ornamental design in the field of an
article of manufacture. If this is the type of invention that you have
created, a design patent application will be necessary.
When it comes time to fill out that patent, you will need to provide
figure descriptions, providing details of the invention, elements of it,
black and white photos of it, surface shading and drafting symbols,
various views of it and much more. All of this information will then be
used by the US Patent and Trademark Office to determine the correct
requirements.
If and when they determine that your invention is unique enough, they
will then issue a patent to the inventor, allowing you exclusive rights
to your invention. |