Analysis of Patents in the Fashion & Clothing Industry
Conducting patent registration in the UAE is vital for inventors from the fashion and clothing industry. Patents give the inventors exclusive rights to their creation, be it a product, design, or process related to the fashion business. By obtaining patent protection for innovative creation, a fashion inventor or company can protect its intellectual property rights. Patent agents in Dubai can pave a hassle-free path for ensuring IP protection. Read ahead to know further:
Two Different Types of Patents for the Fashion Industry
Fashion inventors can protect their innovative products with two types of patents: design patents and utility patents. You can apply for a utility patent in the UAE to protect a novel and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Registering a utility patent is essential for protecting the functional aspects of a useful invention. On the other hand, a design patent only protects the aesthetic features of an invention. It cannot protect the functional aspects of an invention.
Difference Between a Utility and a Design Patent
A utility patent safeguards the way a product is used and operates. A new shirt is eligible for utility patent protection in the UAE as it is functional. A shirt can make you look smarter and it’s a novel technology that fulfils a purpose.
On the other hand, design patents in the UAE protect the appearance of a product. However, a design patent offers protection for a product’s aesthetics and not its structural or utilitarian features. Your shirt is also eligible for design patent registration in the UAE as the straps on your shirt do not serve a purpose. Straps have no role in the technology that makes you smarter and could have been avoided in the final product. In this way, the straps in your shirt are not functional but ornamental and hence eligible for design patent protection.
Which Type of Patent you Must Choose?
The basic purpose of patent registration in the UAE is to give you the exclusive right to prevent others from using, making, selling, offering for sale, or importing the product, but with differing patent terms. For a utility patent, such a right to exclude is 20 years from the date the patent application is filed. In the case of a design patent, the protection is valid only for 14 years from the date of the patent grant. However, the process of getting a utility patent is considerably longer when compared to that of a design patent. Patent agents in Dubai can help you obtain either a design or utility patent without any hassle.
Why You Must Choose Utility Patents?
Getting a utility patent is an expensive process. In exchange for the exclusive right, the inventor is required to teach others how to create or recreate the invention. The process involves complex requirements including a lot of work with the patent examiner. Your utility patent application should include specific descriptions of what other product, other than the shirt, is capable of making you smarter, what novelty is being introduced by the shirt, how to manufacture the shirt, the best method to manufacture your shirt, drawings of the product, and detailed claims covering the product. A utility patent also involves the greater advantage that you can cover different variations of the same invention, such as hats, pants, socks, scarves etc.
Why Opt for Design Patents?
Design patents are easy to get registered with your patent office and the patent grant takes less time compared to utility patents. Registering a design patent in the UAE is cost-effective compared to a utility patent. Design patents are easier because the application doesn’t include claims or any written details to prove how it is novel or how to make the product. A design patent application only involves some drawings. Timing is critical for the fashion industry as designs may go out of fashion fast. Hence, design patents involving less waiting time would be ideal for inventors in the fashion industry. Design patents are ideal for products such as handbags, shoes & footwear, jewellery, hair accessories, home decorations etc.
Hire the Best Patent Agents in Dubai, UAE
Patent registration in the UAE is essential for the fashion industry due to the excessive level of competition in the sector. Parents provide the inventors with a monopoly over their inventions and exclude others from using their intentions for a specific period. However, inventors must choose whether a utility patent or design patent is the best fit for their invention. Patent agents in Dubai such as Jitendra Intellectual Property (JIP) can help you in this regard. JIP has highly qualified agents well versed in the UAE patent laws and makes the process easier for you.