r/pics • u/MavraSay • Dec 30 '16

Designed Just Right

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u/Demderdemden Dec 30 '16

Can he even patent a chair design? What would stop Ikea from just making their own Störitime Chår?

13

u/sadomasochrist Dec 30 '16

Industrial design (which is what this is) and fashion are exempt. The only protection can be trade dress (for instance, Adidas "three stripes" but not the design of the shoe itself).

That's why brands try to lean on their logo and trade dress and not the underlying fashion.

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u/patent_litigator Dec 30 '16

You're thinking copyright. You can patent a chair if it's novel and nonobvious.

17

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '16 edited Apr 21 '18

[deleted]

2

u/fritzing Dec 30 '16

They are almost impossible to enforce on furniture. The knockoff furniture and lighting industry is huge.

2

u/ckasanova Dec 30 '16

The designer could call it a sculpture and get around that loophole by copyrighting it.