How do I protect my new product?
A new product may be protectable to prevent a competitor from making, selling or importing that new product during the term in which the protection is in force. Depending upon the nature of the new product, protection may be obtainable by means of patent or design protection.
Form versus function
In general, a patent protects the function of a new product and is not limited to any specific product you may have devised. Accordingly, patents can provide an extremely powerful monopoly right for preventing competitors from developing competing products using the same underlying concept as your invention. In contrast, a design protects the appearance of a product rather than its function, and is thus limited to cover only designs which are identical to or substantially similar to your design.
Whist design protection may be used to protect products which would not be protectable with a patent (i.e., products which do not have a new or inventive function), a new product may in certain circumstances be protectable by a combination of patent and design protection.
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Introduction
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