(This article was first published in the January issue of TDmonthly Magazine.)
So, you’ve come up with the next best toy design since the Yo-Yo. Hello tropical adventures! But wait: The idea is so good that it’s bound to spawn similar designs from other well financed, but less clever, competitors. What can you do to protect your design?
1. Choose the Right “Intellectual Property” to Protect Your Toy
Your idea is your “intellectual property” – a fancy phrase that is used to describe several types of legal protection. Depending on how clever your design is, you may be able to obtain one or more types of intellectual property protection for your toy.
Generally speaking, patents offer the broadest form of protection but are the most difficult to obtain. Utility patents, as the name suggests, will protect the “useful” aspects of your toy – for example, how it is constructed, or how it functions. Design patents protect the aesthetic aspects of your toy – essentially, how it looks. LeapFrog’s...Click here to read the full article.
Writer's Bio:
Marc S. Cooperman is a partner in the Chicago office of the law firm Banner & Witcoff, where he focuses on intellectual property litigation.
Robert S. Katz is a partner in Banner & Witcoff´s Washington, D.C. office, where he focuses on design protection.
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