design patent
nounUK /dɪˈzaɪn ˈpeɪtnt/
US /dɪˈzaɪn ˈpætnt/
A design patent is a special paper from the government that says no one else can copy how something looks.
The toy company got a design patent for its cute robot shape.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A legal right that protects the unique visual style of a product.
She filed a design patent to protect the curvy bottle she created.
3. A government document that stops others from making the same-looking item.
The design patent covered the phone's rounded corners and buttons.
4. A kind of patent focused on how a thing looks rather than how it works.
Unlike a utility patent, a design patent only guards the shoe's pattern.