Leveraging Design Patents to Protect Graphical User Interfaces
Protecting the "Look and Feel" of GUIs, Understanding Current U.S. and Global Prosecution Practices
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will guide IP counsel on protecting graphical user interface (GUI) in the U.S. and worldwide. The panel will examine the advantages of design patent protection over other forms of IP and offer best practices for obtaining meaningful design protection for GUI.
Outline
- A brief overview of U.S. design patents
- Current trends in user experience
- The legal context for GUI design protection in the U.S.
- Examples of U.S. GUI design patents
- Advantages of design patents over trademark and copyright in the U.S.
- Global protection strategy: obtaining design patent protection for GUIs outside the U.S.
- Enforcement of GUI design rights in the U.S. and abroad
- Protection of designs used in augmented reality and virtual reality
Benefits
The panel will review these and other critical issues:
- Best practices for the protection of GUIs in the U.S. and globally
- Update on recent cases involving claims of infringement of design patents for GUI designs
- Protection for user interface designs of the future
Faculty

Tracy-Gene Durkin
Director
Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
Ms. Durkin heads the firm’s Mechanical and Design Patent Group. With nearly 30 years of experience obtaining... | Read More
Ms. Durkin heads the firm’s Mechanical and Design Patent Group. With nearly 30 years of experience obtaining and enforcing IP rights, she has a deep understanding of utility and design patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Ms. Durkin has been an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University Law School and has spoken internationally on topics such as the interplay between design patents and trade dress, and protection of user interface and the user experience. She is currently a Vice Chair of the Industrial Designs Committee of IP Section of the ABA.
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Robert S. Katz
Principal Shareholder
Banner Witcoff
In his practice, Mr. Katz has helped procure over 6,000 design patents in the U.S. and over 18,000 design... | Read More
In his practice, Mr. Katz has helped procure over 6,000 design patents in the U.S. and over 18,000 design patents/registrations outside the U.S., and has helped to successfully enforce over 100 design patents. Mr. Katz has also provided advice and prepared opinions regarding the patentability of inventions, patent infringement, patent validity, and trade secret protection to help clients properly assess the advantages and disadvantages of certain intellectual property and business decisions. He is a frequent speaker on industrial design-related topics and is a professor at George Washington University Law School teaching Design Law and at Georgetown University Law School teaching IP Pretrial Litigation Skills. Mr. Katz currently serves as Treasurer of FICPI's U.S. Section and as Vice Chair of INTA's Design Rights Committee.
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