Utility patents are for functional inventions. Design patents protect the look of something functional, regardless of whether the functional aspects are new. Because of this, a popular use of design ...

Demand for design patent protections has been increasing in the last decade, and there is no indication that this trend will slow down. James Rieke, partner at Merchant & Gould, spoke to Minnesota ...

As an initial disclaimer, Irwin IP LLP is privileged to be lead counsel for LKQ Corporation and Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. (collectively, “LKQ”) in several design patent infringement matters ...

If you want to make money from your ideas, you have to be pragmatic. First, you need to realize that the odds are against you — and thus, you will need to fight to be paid for your creativity. Is this ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You have an invention idea, and you’d like to protect it. But when is the right time to patent and how do you find the right person to ...

“Perhaps the recent movement and call for a change to the patent bar requirement, as applied to design patents, is [one] tangible, executable action item that will make the intellectual property ...

Sony's PlayStation filed a patent for a controller that uses electric ink to let players design custom layouts for their play style. The controller includes an "anti-fatigue" key to enhance ...

Coloradans are inventive: the state ranks in the top 10 for patents filed per capita. It’s also home to a regional US Patent and Trademark Office, one of only four outside the Washington, DC area. The ...