The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued the Supplemental Guidance for Examination of Design Patent Applications Related to Computer-Generated Interfaces and Icons, introducing several important adjustments to patent protection for digital interface designs.
The guidance not only adds new types of patent-eligible designs but also refines application requirements, further aligning with the evolving needs of digital interaction technologies and providing clearer examination instructions and greater flexibility for applicants.
Newly Added Types of Patent-Eligible Designs
In this supplemental guidance, the USPTO explicitly includes the following three types of designs within the scope of design patent protection:
· Projections
· Holograms
· Virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) interfaces or icons
Conditions for Obtaining Protection
1. The design is separate from the computer, computer display, or computer system that generates it.
2. The design must be for a computer, computer display, or computer system, and is not a transient or disembodied picture or three-dimensional image.
A computer system refers to an integrated combination of hardware and software, including various types of computer systems such as personal computers, handheld devices, servers, mainframes, and supercomputers.
Drawing Requirements
In the past, when filing a design patent application for a computer icon or graphical user interface, the drawings were required to depict a display screen or a portion thereof.
Under the current guidance, when both the title and claim properly identify the article of manufacture, the depiction of a display screen or a portion thereof is no longer required. Applicants may, however, continue to depict the display panel or portions thereof in the drawings.
It should be noted that when preparing application documents, applicants must remain mindful of all patentability requirements to ensure that a skilled artisan would be on reasonable notice as to the metes and bounds of the claimed design.
Claim Language
The new guidance clarifies that claim language such as “icon for display panel,” “projected interface for computer,” or “interface for computer system” also meets the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 171. The term “for” indicates that the claim is directed to a design for an article of manufacture. Accordingly, examiners will no longer be instructed to object to such claim language or titles as failing to adequately describe a design for an article of manufacture.
Applicants also continue to have the option of claiming the article according to prior guidance, for example, by reciting “a display panel with computer icon.”
This adjustment provides applicants with greater flexibility in choosing claim and title language.
This supplemental guidance is effective as of March 13, 2026, and applies to all design patent applications and proceedings filed before, on, or after that date.
Source：https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/13/2026-04987/supplemental-guidance-for-examination-of-design-patent-applications-related-to-computer-generated
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