美国的知识产权保护 IPR Protected In US（三）

设计专利是什么？
What Is a Design Patent?
设计专利是对产品独特的外观特性的法律保护，是一种工业设计权。设计专利的授予，是指产品具有独特的外形或明显的表面纹饰，或者两者兼有。换句话说，设计专利为具有实用价值的装饰设计提供保护。珠宝、家具、饮料容器和电脑图标等装饰设计都属于设计专利。
A design patent is a form of legal protection of the unique visual qualities of a manufactured item. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. A design patent may be granted if the product has a distinct configuration, distinct surface ornamentation or both. In other words, a design patent provides protection for the ornamental design of something that has a practical utility. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers and computer icons are examples of objects that are covered by design patents.
在美国，这意味着不得制造、复制、使用或进口与拥有设计专利保护的产品本质上相似的产品。在其他国家，已注册的设计可以替代设计专利。在某些欧洲国家，通过缴纳一定费用和满足基本的注册要求，即可获得设计专利的保护。
In the United States, that means an item that is substantially similar to something that has the protection of a design patent may not be made, copied, used or imported into the country. In other countries, a registered design may act as an alternative to a design patent. In certain European countries, patent protection for designs may be obtained for a fee and by meeting basic registration requirements.
保护
Protection
设计专利是一种对产品较模糊的保护方式，但也可以说其更为强大。设计专利保护产品的外观特性。一项设计专利可以保护某产品的微小子集，这子集不受版权或商业外观的保护，因为它缺乏第二含义的特殊证明。例如，权利人为车轮侧面的一个小而圆的凹陷获得设计专利的保护,但这不是一件可以获得版权保护或商业外观保护的产品。设计专利也可以保护诸如车轮花纹的设计。
Design patents are one of the more obscure forms of protection available for products, but arguably one of the more powerful. Design patents protect the ornamental features of a product. A design patent can protect a much smaller subset of a product that might not be otherwise copyrightable or protectable as trade dress, absent extraordinary evidence of secondary meaning. As an example, the authors have obtained design patent protection for a single, small, pill-shaped divot in the side of a vehicle wheel. This is not something that would likely be copyrightable or protectable as trade dress. So too can a design patent protect designs such as the pattern of a wheel tread.
设计专利通常比实用专利更容易遭起诉，而且费用也低得多。除了图纸以外，设计专利缺乏实质性的说明书，而且图纸上只有一个声明:“如图所示，[一个部件]的装饰设计。”与商标和实用专利不同，设计专利自签发之日起15年内受保护，且不需要收取存续的费用。
Design patents are generally much easier to prosecute than utility patents, and are far less expensive. They lack a substantive specification, other than drawings, and contain a single claim: "The ornamental design for [a widget], as shown and described." Design patents last fifteen years from the date of issuance, and do not require maintenance fees, unlike trademarks and utility patents.
损害赔偿和禁令救济
Damages & Injunction Relief
在设计专利中，损害赔偿也更容易获得。一旦侵权被发现，设计专利所有人可以选择索取侵权人的所得利润，且所得利润可能相当可观。在最近的苹果和三星之间关乎数十亿美元的诉讼中，绝大多数的损害赔偿是源于三星侵犯了苹果的设计专利。与版权和商业外观权一样，设计专利所有人也可以通过强制令获得衡平法上的救济。在一项即将出台两党法案中，将允许设计专利所有者如商业外观所有者和版权所有者一样，在美国海关进行登记注册。
Damages awards are also much easier to obtain for design patents. Once infringement has been found, the design patent owner can choose to recover the infringer's profits. And these profits can be substantial. In the recent billion-dollar Apple vs Samsung litigation, the vast majority of the damages award was for infringement of Apple's design patents. As with copyrights and trade dress rights, the design patent owner may also obtain equitable relief in the form of an injunction. New on the horizon is a bi-partisan bill that would allow owners of a design patent to register that design patent with United States Customs, just like a trade dress or copyright registration.
排他性
Exclusivity
有精明的权利持有人会利用15年的保护期。一旦设计专利到期，就确立所需商业外观权利的第二含义。这使得某种形式的保护可以无限期地持续下去。
Savvy rights holders use this 15-year exclusivity period to establish the required secondary meaning for trade dress rights once the design patents expire. This allows some form of protection to continue indefinitely.