Patents on Product Designs Strengthened by New Law

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U.S. president Barack Obama signs new bill set to come into effect a year from now.

Protections for design patents has been strengthened by a new law that has been signed by U.S. president Barack Obama.

The Patent Law Treaties Implantation Act of 2012 applies changes to federal patent law to implement two 5-year-old treaties, which are the Patent Law Treaty and the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The purpose of said treaties is to make the process of applying for a patent consistent within member countries.

Inventors will now be able to file patents around the world by utilizing a single application, with the bill scheduled to come into fruition around a year from now. Additionally, it'll increase the term of design patents by one year from 14 to 15.

The new bill will also make it easier for U.S. companies to combat knockoffs of their products. It's expected that the law will subsequently lead to a new slate of design patent applications from foreign firms who want to protect their intellectual property in ways the courts will support.

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Zak Islam
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • -Fran-
    "The new bill will also make it easier for U.S. companies to combat knockoffs of their products."

    Like the butcher says... This is where the real meat is.

    Any details into that phrase? There is way too much money invested in stupid litigation, so the point of "defending patents" should be explained a little better.

    Cheers!
    Reply
  • sykozis
    So, now it will be easier for Apple to file for patents to sue other companies over.....great....
    Reply
  • keither5150
    Apple is including the Note 2 (my current phone) in their lawsuits. I look at my phone, then the iphone, then back at my phone. Wow they are almost identical. Take away the brighter screen, 20x the contrast ratio, bigger size, more features, longer battery life, easier integration with my PC ( I drag and drop my movies straight from media center to my phone, It converts them to a manageable size, and they play.) When you are in the waiting room with a six year old, The lorax is handy.) sd card slot (64GB for $50 on Amazon) Better task management, multitasking, better notifications, better camera software, S pen, better voice recognition, better Maps!!!...... that's enough for now.

    You take away those things and the phones are identical..... I almost bought an iphone by accident, they are so alike. Samsung is tricky..... making the Note 2 so much like the iphone. If I were Apple, I would be mad too....... that I didn't make the better phone first.

    Google should look at the company coby. They make or made a 7 inch tablet called the "Next 6 7 inch tablet ( saw it at wallmart shortly after the nexus 7 came out) It was actually $100 more than the google tablet. Now that is worth suing for. Inferior product trying to cash in on the nexus name and popularity. Apple's reasoning is that they should own the rectangle with rounded corners. They should be laughed out of court. There were plenty of touch screen devices before Apple laid claim to silly patents.
    Apple really makes me sick to my stomach. Venting here helps a bit. It also helps that they will never see any of my money ever again as well.
    Reply
  • Kami3k
    Keither5150 has won the best post of the year award, and the year just started less then a week ago.
    Reply
  • CrArC
    Kami3kKeither5150 has won the best post of the year award, and the year just started less then a week ago. Well, yes, but I could've posted "My name is Dave McPoo Bumswoggle, hurr durr Apple" a millisecond after New Year's and it would've technically been 'best post of the year'.

    Seriously though, t'was a jolly good post. But weren't Apple suing over meaningless issues with the software/OS on the Note 2 rather than the overall design? As keither5150 said, there's just no comparison. Might as well compare the Galaxy Note 2 to a shoe.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    keither5150Apple is including the Note 2 (my current phone) in their lawsuits. I look at my phone, then the iphone, then back at my phone. Wow they are almost identical. Take away the brighter screen, 20x the contrast ratio, bigger size, more features, longer battery life, easier integration with my PC ( I drag and drop my movies straight from media center to my phone, It converts them to a manageable size, and they play.) When you are in the waiting room with a six year old, The lorax is handy.) sd card slot (64GB for $50 on Amazon) Better task management, multitasking, better notifications, better camera software, S pen, better voice recognition, better Maps!!!...... that's enough for now.You take away those things and the phones are identical..... I almost bought an iphone by accident, they are so alike. Samsung is tricky..... making the Note 2 so much like the iphone. If I were Apple, I would be mad too....... that I didn't make the better phone first.Google should look at the company coby. They make or made a 7 inch tablet called the "Next 6 7 inch tablet ( saw it at wallmart shortly after the nexus 7 came out) It was actually $100 more than the google tablet. Now that is worth suing for. Inferior product trying to cash in on the nexus name and popularity. Apple's reasoning is that they should own the rectangle with rounded corners. They should be laughed out of court. There were plenty of touch screen devices before Apple laid claim to silly patents. Apple really makes me sick to my stomach. Venting here helps a bit. It also helps that they will never see any of my money ever again as well.I'm not defending Apple, but the basis of Samsung's loss on patent infringement has nothing to do with looking and feeling like an iphone. Now, that being said, I have a hard time understanding how the few patents that were found to have been violated were worth nearly as much as Apple was awarded...
    Reply
  • jacklynembrey
    i do your hole post and after read that i am agree with you as the partner of <a href="http://www.marklawimmigrant.com/?rel=ugc">immigration lawyers in fairfax va</a>The Patent Law Treaties Implantation Act of 2012 applies changes to federal patent law to implement two 5-year-old treaties, which are the Patent Law Treaty and the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
    Reply