USPTO Has Eye on New Tech in Design Patent Guidance

Sterne Kessler Director Deirdre Wells spoke to Law360 about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recent examination guidance that significantly expands and clarifies design patent protection for computer-generated images and icons.

Wells noted the change is a potential boon for software companies, “If you think about software design, a lot of times the companies that are focused on software design don’t necessarily have their own hardware systems.” She continued, “And so it could be difficult for them to come up with patent protection because they’re designing half of it, but they’re not ultimately deciding exactly what hardware is being used or what it’s being applied to.”