Design Patent Claim Drafting

While the words of a design patent claim are standardized, that does not mean that there is no art to drafting a design patent. A design patent claims the design "as shown and described". Thus the scope of the claim is controlled by controlling what is shown and how it is described. U.S. Patent No. D456,915 is an interesting example of controlling the scope of a design patent claim through the use of dashed lines and description. The invention, an eggnog-colored candle top with a sprinkled nutmeg-like topping, is defined solely by dashed lines. This means that the claim is not limited to any particular shape, and essentially covers randomly dispersed dots on the top of a candle. Also interesting is the attempt to cover color (eggnog) with a black and white drawing solely through written description and the submission of informal drawings.

Proper preparation of a design patent means thoughtful preparation of the drawings, and careful drafting of the description.