International Industrial Design Registration Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

GUI (Graphical User Interface) design is an emerging player in the technology industry, and more so in the world of patents. For companies that are in the business of selling goods and services through websites over the internet, GUI plays a vital role in attracting their consumers. Hence, the GUIs, which often exist in the form of simple icons, visual signals, and screen layouts, have become invaluable and beneficial Intellectual Property (IP) assets that represent a business’s brand identity and goodwill. Like other assets, these GUIs are also vulnerable to get infringed, i.e., copied and used by unauthorized users. Hence, the companies, which rely on GUIs to make profits by attracting and making consumers buy from them, need to protect their GUIs. In this article, we’ll explore how Industrial Design Patents can protect GUIs, thus making them vital components of any robust IP strategy.

Depending on several aspects, different countries have different rules and laws for the protection of GUIs. In general, GUIs may be secured under Copyright and Trademark Law, but Design Patent Protection offers distinct advantages over many other forms of IP protection.

Design patents can protect icons and screen designs that don’t function as trademarks.
For obtaining protection by the Registration of Industrial Design Patent, there is no requirement of creativity, as in the case of copyright.
Design patents possess validity. It means although the term of a design patent registration is limited to 15 years, it rarely outlives because of the driving nature of design, especially in the graphic user interface area.
Unlike copyright or several other Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) where fair use defense exists, design patent infringement isn’t available with this defense.
Design patent rights are easier to enforce than trademark and copyright, as no consumer survey or copying is required to prove infringement.
The measure of damages is a remarkable advantage. For instance, according to the rules for design patent damages – an infringer shall be liable to the patent owner to the extent of his total profit; whereas, Copyright Law limits the damages to the defendant’s profits attributable to the infringing component.
A design patent cannot just expand the intellectual property portfolio of the company but also increase its future asset value.

Significant Aspects Associated with GUI that Are Protectable as Design Patents

Firstly, novel icons related to GUI are protectable as design patents. These icons are the visual representations that display the subject matter related to the application. For example – an envelope representing e-mail, camera lens representing a camera, etc. In the case of third-party applications (apps), the app icon appears to be the most vital thing with which that particular company can convey its brand. Hence, protecting the app icon with the help of the design patent is of great importance.
Secondly, the GUIs that you can view when the app gets opened are also eligible to be protected as design patents. For instance, on clicking the icon, you can open the app and see the GUIs inside. At this stage, the novelty aspect is all about the GUI’s layout that includes the specific location of each element, which is also protectable. For instance, on opening a camera app, you can see the control and settings buttons displayed in a specific layout. All these are protectable as long as they are novel and nonobvious.
Finally, animation related to GUI is also protectable. For example, when you click on the settings of the camera app, the screen often slides to either right or left off the settings page. This type of movement in the app is protectable as a design patent. One common example of protection of such movement in GUI is the Apple ‘Cover Flow’ design patent, which safeguards flipping through albums in the music player interface and iTunes.

GUI is a booming technological area, and if we talk about GUI patents, then it is true that a major portion of the total design patent filings made worldwide is related to GUIs. Moreover, the number has been rapidly accelerating. The protection of GUI is an imperative type of Intellectual Property Protection that a developer should obtain to protect the company brand. Because of the continuous and rapid technological developments, it is expected that the future will see GUIs as essential assets for any business that wants to interact with its audience. That’s why almost all, including people, companies, national to International Industrial Design Registration service providers, etc., believe that the GUI protection must not be limited only to the software world, rather all industries should consider protecting GUIs strongly.

Design patents are what offer unique rights/ protection against GUI counterfeits and third parties, whose mimicking designs may cause the likelihoods of confusion. Furthermore, they can even help the owner to increase the value of his/ her IP portfolio, and thus, attract investors. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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When it comes to the buildings that need to pass the test of time, wood appears to possess the necessary strength and resilience. As per many reports, wood provides the commercial and Industrial Designs with not just the outstanding durability but also a more acceptable aesthetic look over steel and concrete. Adding mass wood to the workspaces is a type of modern revival of the traditional timber post-and-beam-based design of the past. Wood, along with state-of-the-art technologies, provides the commercial and industrial designs that are expected in today’s era.

Some of the sustainable features that clarify why designers and people nowadays prefer wood in industrial design are as follows:

Cost-effectiveness

According to the construction data gathered by surveying the mid-rise buildings in the United States, the cost of constructing these buildings with concrete is around 23% more than the expense of constructing them with wood. Moreover, the steel-framed spaces are around 41% more expensive than the wood-framed ones. Besides being cost-effective, the wood-framed buildings found meeting the essential requirements for an individual’s performance and safety in a better way as compared to steel and concrete ones.

Adaptability and Versatility

One remarkable feature that commercial and industrial buildings should possess is flexibility. In other words, these structures should be flexible as tenants look for changes over time. For this reason, wood that offers multiple options to get the long spans essential for an open and unobstructed floor plan is preferred by most of the designers when it comes to roof-framing. Roofs made up of wood are economical, strong, and easy to install. In the case of buildings with large-sized structural grids, the panelized wood roof sounds cost-effective due to the lower material costs and quick installation time.

Ease of Use

In today’s times, most of the building materials are first built off-site and then assembled in the construction field. Wood perfectly fits this trend of offsite prefabrication of elements, and thus, helps in reducing the onsite construction time. This concept ultimately makes the wood buildings comparatively fast and efficient to construct. Using wood is advantageous in terms of location also. Wood buildings are simple and quick to be constructed in areas with varying climate. These are beneficial even in urban job sites, where finding space for steel fabrication or concrete delivery and mixing can be challenging. As experienced wood contractors are widely available, wood and related components can be obtained quickly and easily.

Sustainability

For projects that emphasized sustainability and the use of renewable building components, wood is often the foremost choice. Almost all from new industrial designers to professionals, who deal with providing services like Registration of Industrial Design, Industrial Design Protection, etc., prefer wood over other materials. To evaluate the advantages of using wood in the construction of big stores, let’s go through the results of a study in which a 54,800 square foot steel-framed building was compared with one constructed of wood. Though the two buildings have the same geometry, floor area, and structural layout, yet the environmental impacts of the wood building are remarkably lower than the steel-framed one. The impacts were analyzed through demolition, disposal, recovery, recycling, and reuse of the materials used in the construction. When compared to the steel building, the wood building saves 642 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and 9,116 gigajoules of non-renewable energy. Besides these, the wood building possesses many other benefits related to raw material supply, manufacturing phase, etc.

Aesthetics and Biophilic Values

A ton of studies showed that wood possesses the ability to nourish a space with warmth, texture, and visually appealing appearance. That’s why not just common people and designers but even national to International Industrial Design Registration services providers have positive associations with it. Exposed wood trusses are known for adding immediate interest to commercial and industrial buildings, and thus, setting them apart from the wide range of other similar spaces. Designers nowadays are also increasingly drawn to the biophilic benefits provided by wood. Biophilia is the inherent human tendency to seek connections with nature. Biophilic design, which is an extension of biophilia, includes natural materials, nature views, and other experiences of the natural world into the modern built environment.

These are some of the amazing benefits of using wood, especially in commercial and industrial buildings. Now, it would not be wrong to conclude that wood provides designs that bring nature into a space, which is thought to be calming for people within and nearby. Moreover, commercial buildings constructed of wood are believed to provide the working ambiance that can increase productivity. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com