EARLIER this year and last year we wrote many articles about the bizarre concept of a design patent; one ought to expect copyrights -- not patents -- to cover designs. In Europe there's something in-between.
"How long before sculpting becomes some sort of a crime? Or 3-D printing?"There are comments above like: "What is the technical degree necessary for the ornamental arts?"
How long before sculpting becomes some sort of a crime? Or 3-D printing? Might it be any worse than software patents, where the mere act of coding (one's own original program) can become an invitation to lawsuits? Where does this end? How about patents "On Tacos" (or taco plates) as Patently-O put it the other day? To quote: "Design patents aren’t supposed to protect “functional” aspects of a design. But in design patent law, as explained by Prof. Sarah Burstein (@design_law on Twitter), “functional” means “the only configuration that is fit for a particular purpose.” If there’s another way of doing it, then it isn’t functional. And there are plenty of alternative configurations for plates that hold tacos upright."
Ridiculous!
"When will we see patents on paintings?"More design patents were mentioned in the media a couple of days ago, so certainly it's becoming a 'thing'.
When will we see patents on paintings? Not yet? ⬆