Author: Aindrila Mitra

Most founders don’t realize they’re walking into a trap. It happens when you build something that looks great, feels great, and has a design you’re proud of… but the law decides that design is “functional,” not “ornamental.” And once that happens, you lose the protection you thought you had. Anyone can copy the look of…

Design patents seem simple on the surface. You protect how something looks. Easy, right? But the moment you dive into the real process, you hit the word that causes more confusion than almost anything else: obviousness. Most founders, engineers, and builders hear that word and feel stuck. “How can a design be obvious?” “Obvious to…

When you create a new product design, you want to know one thing right away: Is this truly new? That question matters, because design patents only protect what hasn’t been done before. And the fastest way to get that answer is by searching for prior art—images, drawings, and products that look like yours and could…

Copycats never show up when you’re struggling. They show up the moment your idea starts to work. The moment customers lean in. The moment you finally feel like you’re building something real. And nothing feels worse than seeing someone try to piggyback on what you built—especially when they copy just enough to get close, but…

Wearable tech moves fast. Hardware teams blink, and a new version needs a new band, a new battery module, a new sensor pod, or a new clip-on. Everything shifts. Everything gets swapped. And every small piece you create—every latch, mount, connector, pod, or module—can become the thing that sets your product apart. Or the thing…

Most founders think packaging is just a box. Something you order in bulk, stamp a logo on, and ship. But if you’re building something new, something that took months or years to get right, the package around it isn’t just a wrapper. It’s protection for your product, your brand, and your IP. And when you…

Most founders don’t think about design patents until it’s almost too late. You’re busy building, testing, shipping, fixing bugs, getting customer feedback, and trying to keep the company alive. But the look of your product—the way it feels in someone’s hand, the curves of the shell, the face of the display, the way the UI…

Let’s get right to it, because you’re not here for fluff. You’re here because you poured days, maybe weeks, into a tiny UX moment—a little bounce, a soft fade, a quick slide, a playful tap ripple—and you want to know one thing: Can you patent this?Micro-interactions feel small, but they shape the whole experience. They…

Protecting the icon for your app might sound simple. It’s just a tiny picture, right? But that tiny picture does a huge job. It’s the face of your product. It’s the first thing users tap. It’s how people remember you before they even see your app’s name. Because of that, founders often wonder whether they…

GUI design patents sound like a tiny detail, but they can protect some of the most valuable parts of your product. The way your screen looks, the way it moves, and the way it reacts when someone taps a button can be the difference between a forgettable app and one people love. These moments may…