The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued new guidance on March 12 that broadens design patent eligibility to include computer generated images displayed through projections, holograms, and virtual or augmented reality. The guidance explicitly recognizes these types of digital designs as potentially patentable and removes the previous requirement that applications must show a physical display screen to qualify as an article of manufacture. This represents a clear shift from the agency’s 2023 guidance, which kept stricter limitations and did not address these technologies.

Attorneys say the update provides greater clarity and flexibility, particularly for software companies that do not control the hardware their designs appear on. While some practitioners may still include display screens in drawings for strategic or international filing reasons, the changes are expected to increase both the volume and scope of design patent filings.

The guidance is not legally binding and has drawn criticism from some legal scholars who argue that the USPTO is stretching the statutory definition of an article of manufacture. Even with the expanded scope, all traditional patent requirements such as novelty and non obviousness still apply.