| Patents > Search Collections > MPEP > 1504.01(a) Computer-Generated Icons [R-5] - 1500 Design Patents |
|
|
|
Go to MPEP - Table of Contents
1504.01(a) Computer-Generated Icons [R-5] - 1500 Design Patents
1504.01(a) Computer-Generated Icons [R-5]
To be directed to statutory subject matter, design applications for computer-generated icons must comply with the "article of manufacture" requirement of 35 U.S.C. 171.
I. GUIDELINES FOR EXAMINATION OF DESIGN PATENT APPLICATIONS FOR COMPUTER-GENERATED ICONS
The following guidelines have been developed to assist USPTO personnel in determining whether design patent applications for computer-generated icons comply with the "article of manufacture" requirement of 35 U.S.C. 171.
A. General Principle Governing Compliance With the "Article of Manufacture" Requirement
Computer-generated icons, such as full screen displays and individual icons, are 2-dimensional images which alone are surface ornamentation. See, e.g., Ex parte Strijland, 26 USPQ2d 1259 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1992) (computer-generated icon alone is merely surface ornamentation). The USPTO considers designs for computer-generated icons embodied in articles of manufacture to be statutory subject matter eligible for design patent protection under 35 U.S.C. 171. Thus, if an application claims a computer-generated icon shown on a computer screen, monitor, other display panel, or a portion thereof, the claim complies with the "article of manufacture" requirement of 35 U.S.C. 171. Since a patentable design is inseparable from the object to which it is applied and cannot exist alone merely as a scheme of surface
The Inventors Assistance Center is available to help you on patent matters.Send questions about USPTO programs and services to the USPTO Contact Center (UCC). You can suggest USPTO webpages or material you would like featured on this section by E-mail to the webmaster@uspto.gov. While we cannot promise to accommodate all requests, your suggestions will be considered and may lead to other improvements on the website. |
|
|
Go to MPEP - Table of Contents
=online
business system 
=fees 
=forms
=help 
=laws/regulations 
=definition
(glossary)