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 patents is to protect the outside of common consumer products. What’s more common than the written word?

Increasingly, companies are investing in designing unique and

Background

Tech companies of every kind use graphic user interfaces (“GUI”) as a powerful differentiator of products, user experience, and branding. Companies are smart to leverage GUIs. It’s well known by marketing professionals that a well-implemented GUI can positively influence a purchaser’s decision to buy a particular product or service. By contrast, sales can be