Gulf Coast Intellectual Property Group
5450 Bruce B. Downs Suite 355
Wesley Chapel, Fl 33544
Phone: 214-764-9311
Fax: 888-822-7531
"Specializing in Meeting the Needs of Small Business and Individual Inventors"
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Which Type of Patent can be used to protect your Invention?
Most Products or Ideas can be protected with either a Utility Patent or a Design Patent. A Utility Patent is valid for 20 years and a Design Patent is valid for 14 years.
Patents protect what is different about your invention. To determine what type of Patent you need, think about "what is different " about your invention compared to others and read the example below.
Design Patent Example:
Let's say a shoe company develops a new style of tennis shoe. When the company has finished developing the shoe and is ready to take the shoe to market, they want to protect their investment by filing for a Patent. The tennis shoe the company has developed is a new style of tennis shoe. The tennis shoe works like other tennis shoes but what is different is the look of the tennis shoe. Since the company invested a lot of money developing the tennis shoe, they want to make a return on that investment and inhibit anybody else from making,selling or using a tennis shoe that looks like their tennis shoe. The company will choose to file for a Design Patent to protect their new style of tennis shoe. Since it is the "look" or "appearance" of the shoe that is different, a Design Patent is the best type of Patent to protect the new shoe. If what is different about your invention is the way that it looks, you should file for a Design Patent. Design Patents have a term of 14 years.
Utility Patent Example:
Using the same shoe example above, let's say this time the company developed a new tennis shoe that helped a person jump 10 feet high in the air. What is different about this tennis shoe? While it may look different, the real difference is that this tennis shoe can help you jump 10 feet high in the air. In other words, it "works" different than other tennis shoes. The function of the tennis shoe is protected with a Utility Patent. Utility Patents protect the functionality of the invention, meaning what elements are in the invention and how they work. For this example, a Utility Patent could protect not just a tennis shoe that helps you jump 10 feet high in the air but any type of shoe that can help you jump 10 feet high in the air. Utility Patents offer "broader" protection than Design Patent. Utility Patents have a term of 20 years.
Let's say a shoe company develops a new style of tennis shoe. When the company has finished developing the shoe and is ready to take the shoe to market, they want to protect their investment by filing for a Patent. The tennis shoe the company has developed is a new style of tennis shoe. The tennis shoe works like other tennis shoes but what is different is the look of the tennis shoe. Since the company invested a lot of money developing the tennis shoe, they want to make a return on that investment and inhibit anybody else from making,selling or using a tennis shoe that looks like their tennis shoe. The company will choose to file for a Design Patent to protect their new style of tennis shoe. Since it is the "look" or "appearance" of the shoe that is different, a Design Patent is the best type of Patent to protect the new shoe. If what is different about your invention is the way that it looks, you should file for a Design Patent. Design Patents have a term of 14 years.
Utility Patent Example:
Using the same shoe example above, let's say this time the company developed a new tennis shoe that helped a person jump 10 feet high in the air. What is different about this tennis shoe? While it may look different, the real difference is that this tennis shoe can help you jump 10 feet high in the air. In other words, it "works" different than other tennis shoes. The function of the tennis shoe is protected with a Utility Patent. Utility Patents protect the functionality of the invention, meaning what elements are in the invention and how they work. For this example, a Utility Patent could protect not just a tennis shoe that helps you jump 10 feet high in the air but any type of shoe that can help you jump 10 feet high in the air. Utility Patents offer "broader" protection than Design Patent. Utility Patents have a term of 20 years.
