Patent a Design
Design patents must meet certain requirements. This includes that the design must be an ornamental design of an object of manufacture (not the object of manufacture itself). The design may not exist alone from the object to which it is applied. It cannot exist alone (like a painting or piece of artwork).
It is important to note that design patents do not cover an idea or an invention, only the design. The only component that is protected when a design patent is granted is typically what is shown in the drawings. If you have invented the article of manufacture itself, then you will need to file a utility patent for this (you may file either a provisional or nonprovisional patent application).
In addition to protecting an ornamental design, design patent applications must cover a design that is novel and nonobvious. That means it must be unique and different enough from another design to make it past the nonobvious criteria.
