King Patent and Business Law, PLLC

Petrifying Patents – Devilish Design Patents

Welcome to what are essentially the cartoons before the main feature in this year’s Halloween-related videos about intellectual property.

I’m Julie King, of King Patent and Business Law, your witchy guide to all things dark and mysterious in the world of patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, confidential information, and more. You may not know it, but they are all around you, every day, almost everywhere you go. You can’t escape them.

I must warn you that this is for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not legal advice, it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship, and this does NOT make me your lawyer.

Last year I covered some Trademark Tales of Terror about popular horror films. This year I’ll be talking about patents ranging from cute accessories to truly bizarre inventions. I want to note that I’m not the attorney for any of these patents. I just found these by doing a search in Google patents.

I’ll be talking about inventions that help collect candy, creepy costumes, ghoulish games, and some truly bizarre patents that deal with death. Those are all utility patents for how things work.

First I’m just going to show some Halloween and horror-related design patents, which are just for how things look. Design patents last for 15 years rather than the 20 utility patents can last, and the applications are much more simple because the claim is simply the drawings of how the invention looks rather than a carefully crafted list of components or methods.

There are a couple here you will know well and some that may surprise you.

Design patents can be issued for all kinds of inventions that are about how something that is manufactured looks. Sometimes you can also get a separate utility patent for how the invention works.

There are some design patents for those Halloween inflatables you see everywhere, and this is one of them. There are also utility patents for how they work.

Here are a few design patents for decorations: a gruesome head decoration, a skull decoration that has a light-up crystal ball replacing the top part of the skull, and a Halloween vampire decoration.

Next is one that is for a costume accessory, a glove with claws at the ends of the fingertips.

This one is for a haunted keylight. Again, nothing to do with how the keylight works, just how it looks.

Similarly, we have a ghost-shaped drinking fountain.

Finally, we have some toys. This one is for a simple ghost toy.

Our last one is famous. It’s the LEGO® toy ghost!

If you want to learn more about utility patents through some chilling examples, or if you’re just curious about patents for creepy things and Halloween things, check out the other episodes dropping each day this week. See you then, if you dare!

Discover more from King Patent and Business Law

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Julie King

Julie is the founding attorney at King Patent and Business Law. She has been practicing law for over 20 years, is a licensed patent attorney, and has state licenses in Illinois and Georgia.

October 29, 2024

More Posts

Recent Posts

Highway to Probate

A solid estate plan gives you control over what happens, both while you’re living and after you’re gone. If you don’t have one, or have one that’s inadequate, your nearest and dearest will most likely end up managing your estate in probate court when you pass, which is time-consuming and expensive compared to what can happen with a good estate plan.
Here are the most important estate planning dates to keep on your radar.

It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Miss Your Business Deadlines)

As AC/DC said, “It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll,” and I can tell you it’s a long way to the top in business if you miss your deadlines. Time matters in business. Whether you’re launching a startup, maintaining operations, or preparing for growth, certain deadlines can make or break your success. Missing key business dates can lead to financial penalties, legal trouble, or lost opportunities. Here are some of the most critical dates every business owner should have on their radar.