The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officially issued 1 million U.S. design patents today, which represents an important milestone for American innovation.
The one millionth U.S. design patent was filed by Agustina Huckaby of Fort Worth, Texas, for a decorative design of a dispensing comb. Agustina Huckaby, a licensed cosmetologist, holds a patent for a different comb design and trademarks it as "Pomp and Powder."
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants patents for new designs, original designs, and decorative designs of products. Protecting the appearance of items has become a crucial step for many small and medium-sized enterprises to start their own businesses.
In recent years, the number of design patent applications has been higher than ever before. In 2022, the USPTO received more than 50,000 design patent applications, and the number of design applications has increased by 20% in the past five years.
In order to better serve, the USPTO approved a reorganization plan to promote the appearance design team into an independent department and appointed a new commissioner. Design patents will continue to play an even more critical role in driving the nation's economy through consumer demand and the creation of new business and job opportunities.
In 1842, printer George Bruce obtained the first design patent in the history of U.S. patents for the appearance of a font he designed. It has been 181 years since then. In the development process of appearance design, design patents have protected the unique appearance of products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Eames chairs, as well as the images of iconic characters such as R2D2 and Yoda in Star Wars.
