DESIGN PATENTS

Can design patents be used to protect the appearance of computer-generated graphics at selected moments in time? How about the dynamic icons on your cellular phone or characters and features in a video game? The answer is yes, but several of the biggest companies were waiting for the Patent Office’s decision in this regard which finally came in a case David Leason handled, as explained in “Design Patent Protection for Animated Computer-Generated Icons,” originally published in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, Vol. 91, No. 10/11/12, Oct./Nov./Dec., 2009.