WO2015171110A1

WO2015171110A1 - Systems and methods for automated preparation of design patent applications for three-dimensional objects

Info

Publication number: WO2015171110A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/036779
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shmuel Ur; David Hirshberg; Bradley Kirk ROBERTS
Original assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC
Current assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC
Priority date: 2014-05-05
Filing date: 2014-05-05
Publication date: 2015-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 2016-11-05

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for automatic preparation of a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object by a patent application preparation system that includes an input module and an output module. The input module may receive and extract one or more elements of the design patent application from a 3D design input file that includes design data for the 3D object. The input module may further receive information associated with the 3D object that includes one or more other elements of the design patent application. The output module may prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the 3D object in a format in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency. The prepared design patent application may then be submitted electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with required fees.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED PREPARATION OF DESIGN PATENT APPLICATIONS FOR THREE- DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS

BACKGROUND

[0001] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0002] Printing of three-dimensional (3D) objects has become a popular method to create prototypes and custom manufactured articles. While printing a 3D object may be a time consuming process, copying and/or modifying the 3D object by changing scale, color, or material, for example, may be simple. Accordingly, patent protection for the 3D object may be sought after to prevent others from copying and/or modifying an inventor's 3D object design. Currently, obtaining a design patent for a 3D object may be a timely and costly ambition, as it likely involves hiring outside legal counsel to assist in preparation, submission, and prosecution of a design patent application.

[0003] With the increase in popularity of printing 3D objects, improvements and/or alternative or additional solutions to preparing a design patent application may be warranted in order to provide a quick and cost effective method to protect the 3D object design from being copied and/or modified by other users.

SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure generally describes techniques to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object.

[0005] According to some examples, methods executed at least in part on computing devices to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object are provided. An example method may include receiving design data for the 3D object, and extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The method may also include receiving information associated with the 3D object, where the information comprises one or more other elements of the design patent application, and merging the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application.

[0006] According to other examples, systems for automatically preparing a design patent application for a 3D object are described. An example system may include an input module and an output module. The input module may be configured to receive design data for the 3D object, where one or more elements of the design patent application may be extracted from the design data, and receive information associated with the 3D object, where the information may include one or more other elements of the design patent application. The output module may be configured to merge extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, where the design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

[0007] According to further examples, computing devices to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object are described. An example computing device may include a memory configured to store instructions and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a design patent application preparation module in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory. The design patent application preparation module may be configured to receive design data for the 3D object, and extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The design patent application preparation module may be configured to receive information associated with the 3D object, where the information may include one or more other elements of the design patent application, and merge the extracted elements from the design data and information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, where the design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

[0008] According to some examples, methods executed at least in part on a computing device to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object are provided. An example method may include receiving a 3D design input file for the 3D object, extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the 3D design input file, and prompting a user to manually input information associated with the 3D object, the information comprising one or more other elements of the design patent application. The example method may also include preparing the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the 3D object in a format in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency, and submitting the prepared design patent application electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with at least one of a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

[0009] According to other examples, a computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object is described. The instructions, when executed on one or more computing devices, may cause a method to be performed. The method may be similar to the example methods provided above.

[0010] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the

accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the

accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment where automated preparation of a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example patent application preparation system configured to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example patent application preparation module integrated with a 3D printing service to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example patent application preparation system implemented as a plug in tool for design software to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object; FIG. 5 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may be used to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object that may be performed by a computing device such as the computing device in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer program product, all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be used, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. The aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

[0013] This disclosure is generally drawn to methods, apparatus, systems, devices, and/or computer program products related to automatic preparation of a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object.

[0014] Briefly stated, technologies are generally described for automatic preparation of a design patent application for a 3D object by a patent application preparation system that includes an input module and an output module. The input module may receive and extract one or more elements of the design patent application from a 3D design input file that includes design data for the 3D object. The input module may further receive information associated with the 3D object that includes one or more other elements of the design patent application. The output module may prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the 3D object in a format in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency. The prepared design patent application may then be submitted electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with any required fees. In some cases, fees may be paid at a later time or date if permitted by the patent agency.

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment where automated preparation of a design patent application for a 3D object may be implemented, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0016] As shown in a diagram 100, a network 110 may host a patent application

preparation system 112 coupled to one or more client devices (for example, a laptop 104), which may be operated by one or more applicants (for example, applicant 102) that may be seeking design patent protection for a 3D object. The patent application preparation system 112 may include an input module 114 and an output module 116. In some embodiments, the patent application preparation system 112 may be a plug in tool for a 3D printer and/or integrated with a 3D printing service 106 comprising the 3D printer. In other embodiments, the patent application preparation system 112 may be a plug in tool for 3D design software and/or integrated with a 3D design service 108 comprising the 3D design software. Furthermore, the patent application preparation system 112 may be integrated with a search service 120 and a submission service 118. The patent application preparation system 112 may include one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to communicate with the 3D design service 108, the 3D printing service 106, the search service 120, and the submission service 118.

[0017] The network 110 may comprise any topology of servers, clients, Internet service providers, and communication media, where the topology may be static or dynamic. The network 110 may include secure networks such as an enterprise network, an unsecure network such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. The network 110 may also coordinate communication over other networks such as Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or cellular networks. Furthermore, the network 110 may include short range wireless networks such as Bluetooth or similar ones. By way of example, and not limitation, the network 1 10 may include wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared and other wireless media.

[0018] Dependent on which patent agency a prepared design patent application will be submitted to, certain elements of the design patent application may be required for the application to be made of record and examined by the patent agency. For example, for the United States of America's patent agency, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the following elements are required for a design patent application: a preamble, stating name of the applicant, title of the design, and a brief description of the nature and intended use of the article in which the design is embodied; cross-reference to related

applications (unless included in the application data sheet); a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development; description of the figure(s) of the drawing; a feature description; a single claim; drawings or photographs; and an executed oath or declaration. In addition, a filing fee, search fee, and examination fee are also required. Accordingly, the patent application preparation system 112 may be configured to automatically prepare the design patent application such that all required elements are present in accordance with the patent agency to which the prepared design patent application is being submitted, as described below.

[0019] The input module 114 of the patent application preparation system 112 may be configured to receive design data for a 3D object. In one example, the design data may be received as a 3D design input file generated by scanning the 3D object, which may be performed and sent to the patent application preparation system 112 by the 3D printing service 106. In another example, the 3D design input file may be generated and sent to the patent application preparation system 112 by the 3D design service 108. In a further example, the applicant 102 may provide the 3D design input file through the laptop 104.

[0020] The input module 114 may be configured to extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The input module 114 may then be configured to receive information associated with the 3D object that includes one or more other elements of the design patent application from the design data. In some examples, the applicant 102 may be prompted to manually input the information through the laptop 104. In other examples, the information may be automatically gathered from other design patent applications previously prepared for the applicant 102. The search service 120 may be configured to search one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent

applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object based on the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application.

[0021] The output module 116 of the patent application preparation system 112 may merge the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application. As discussed previously, the design patent application may be prepared in a format that meets one or more requirements of the patent agency to which the application is being submitted. In some embodiments, the output module 116 may send the prepared design patent application to the submission service 118 for submittal to the patent agency. In other embodiments, the output module 116 may send the prepared design patent application to a submission module within the patent application preparation system 112 for electronic submittal to the patent agency in conjunction with one or more required fees, such as a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates an example patent application preparation system configured to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0023] As shown in a diagram 200, a patent application preparation system 202 may include an input module 204, a search module 214, an output module 218, and a submission module 220. In some examples, the patent application preparation system 202 may be executed as a service application, which may be a third party service implemented as a web based service.

[0024] The input module 204 may be configured to receive design data for a 3D object for which a design patent application is to be prepared. The design data may be received as a 3D design input file 206. The 3D design input file 206 may be generated and sent to the patent application preparation system 202 by one or more external sources 208, such as a 3D printer or a 3D design software program, for example. In other examples, an applicant 212 may provide the 3D design input file 206 through a client device (not shown in the diagram 200). The 3D design input file 206 may be in a stereolithography (STL) file format, a polygon (PLY) file format, or a virtual reality modeling language (VRML) file format, for example, dependent the external sources 208 that generated the 3D design input file 206.

[0025] The input module 204 may extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the 3D design input file 206. The extracted elements may include a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings, for example. The elements may be extracted by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file 206 from which the drawings may be generated to include in the design patent application. The drawings generated may provide a sufficient number of views to completely disclose the appearance of the claimed design, such as a front, a rear, right and left sides, and a top and bottom view. The drawings generated may generally be black and white to be in accordance with submission requirements. If color drawings are generated, the patent design application may only be accepted if a submitted petition explaining why the color drawings are necessary is first granted prior to submission of the patent design application. The description of the one or more drawings of the 3D object may indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated by the input module based on the other elements. For example, the claim may be in formal terms to "The ornamental design for (the article which embodies the design or to which it is applied) as shown," where the description of the article in the claim is consistent in terminology with a provided title of the design.

[0026] In some embodiments, one or more characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. Example characteristics that may be modified include corner sharpness, smoothness of surfaces, cliff edges, flatness, seam visibility, parallelism, non-parallelism, spherical projection, hyperbolic projection, eccentricity, symmetry, and/or porosity. In one example, if the 3D object is a sphere with a high surface roughness due to surface divots, in at least one drawing the surface roughness may be reduced by decreasing the depth of the divots and/or by removing the divots to broaden the scope of coverage. Broadening the scope of coverage may provide greater patent protection by preventing others from not only copying the 3D object but from simply modifying the 3D object by changing color, material, and/or scale of the 3D object, for example.

[0027] The input module 204 may then be configured to receive information 210 associated with the 3D object that includes one or more other elements of the design patent application. The other elements of the design application may include a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. The preamble may include a name of the applicant 212, a title of the design, and a brief description of a nature and intended use of the 3D object in which the design is embodied The information 210 may be received through manual input by the applicant 212, where the applicant 212 may be prompted to input the information 210 through a client device. Or, if the applicant has other design patent applications that have been previously prepared by the patent application preparation system 202, at least some of the information 210 may be automatically gathered from the previously prepared design patent applications stored in a database of the patent application preparation system 202. [0028] The search module 214 may be configured to search one or more design patent databases 216 for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object. The search may be based on the extracted elements from the 3D design input file 206 and the information 210 associated with the 3D object, for example. Searching the design patent databases 216 for similar 3D objects may help determine if the 3D object is patentable over prior art in the design patent record. If the 3D object is determined to be patentable over prior art, the patent application preparation system 202 may proceed in preparing the design patent application. If the 3D object is determined to not be patentable over prior art, the patent application preparation system 202 may halt preparation and inform the applicant 212 of the prior art causing the 3D object to be unpatentable. In light of the prior art, the applicant 212 may modify or improve a design of the 3D object to make the 3D object distinct from the prior art and generate a new 3D design input file to be received by the patent application preparation system 202.

[0029] The output module 218 may be configured to prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file 206 and the information 210 associated with the 3D object. The design patent application may be prepared in a format that is in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency to which the design patent application is being submitted. For example, patent agencies of different countries may have different requirements. In some embodiments, the design patent application may be prepared for submission to multiple patent agencies with varying requirements. Accordingly, the design patent application may be formatted to each of the multiple patent agencies' varying

requirements prior to submission.

[0030] The submission module 220 may then be configured to submit the prepared design patent application electronically to the one or more patent agencies. Required fees, such as a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee, may be submitted electronically in conjunction with the submission of the design patent application. In other embodiments, the prepared design patent application may be sent to a submission service external to the patent application preparation system for submittal to the one or more patent agencies.

[0031] Overall, the preparation and submission of the design patent application may be more time efficient, taking less than an hour, and more cost efficient than hiring outside legal counsel to prepare and the submit the design patent application. Thus, providing a quick and cost effective method to protect the 3D object from being copied and/or modified by others.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates an example patent application preparation module integrated with a 3D printing service to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0033] As shown in a diagram 300, a patent application preparation module 302, including an input module 314 and an output module 316, may be integrated with a 3D printing service 304. In other embodiments, the patent application preparation module 302 may be a plug in tool for the 3D printing service 304. Among other devices, the 3D printing service 304 may include a 3D printer 308 configured to produce a 3D object 309. The 3D object 309 may be scanned by the 3D printer 308 to generate a 3D design input file 306 that includes design data for the 3D object 309. The 3D design input file 306 may be in a PLY file format or a VRML file format, for example.

[0034] The input module 314 of the patent application preparation module 302 may be configured to receive the 3D design input file 306. One or more elements of the design patent application may be extracted from the 3D design input file 306, such as a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings, for example. The elements may be extracted by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file 306 from which the drawings may be generated to include in the design patent application, as described previously in FIG. 2. In some examples, characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. For example, if the 3D object is a rectangular prism with high symmetry, in at least one drawing the symmetry may be reduced to broaden the scope of coverage. The description of the one or more drawings of the 3D object may indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated by the input module based on the other extracted elements.

[0035] The input module 314 may also be configured to receive information 310 associated with the 3D object 309. The input module 314 may prompt an applicant 312 to manually input the information 310 through a client device. In other examples, if the applicant 312 has had previous design patent applications prepared by the patent application preparation module, at least some of the information 310 may be gathered from the previously prepared design patent applications, which may be stored in a database of the patent application preparation module 302. The information 310 may include one or more other elements of the design patent application such as, a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration.

[0036] The output module 316 of the patent application preparation module 302 may then be configured to merge the extracted elements from the 3D design input file 306 and the information 310 associated with the3D object to prepare the design patent application. The output module 316 may be configured to format the design patent application in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency to which the design patent application will be submitted. Once prepared, the output module 316 may be configured to send the design patent application to a submission service 318 for submittal to the patent agency.

[0037] FIG. 4 illustrates an example patent application preparation system implemented as a plug in tool for design software to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0038] As shown in a diagram 400, a patent application preparation system 402, including an input module 414 and an output module 416, may be a plug in tool for 3D design software 408 executed by a 3D design service 404. The 3D design software 408 may generate a 3D design input file 406 that includes design data for a 3D object for which a design patent application is to be prepared. The 3D design input file 406 may be in an STL file format, for example.

[0039] The input module 414 of the patent application preparation system 402 may be configured to receive the 3D design input file 406. One or more elements of the design patent application may be extracted from the 3D design input file 406, such as a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings, for example. The elements may be extracted by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file 406 from which the drawings may be generated to include in the design patent application, as described previously in FIG. 2. In some examples, characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. For example, if the 3D object is a square, in at least one drawing the edges may be rounded to broaden the scope of coverage. The description of the one or more drawings of the 3D object may indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated by the input module based on the other extracted elements.

[0040] The input module 414 may also be configured to receive information 410 associated with the 3D object. The input module 414 may prompt an applicant 412 to manually input the information 410 through a client device. In other examples, if the applicant has had previous design patent applications prepared by the patent application preparation system, at least some of the information 410 may be gathered from the previously prepared design patent applications, which may be stored in a database of the patent application preparation system 402. The information 410 may include one or more other elements of the design patent application such as, a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration.

[0041] The output module 416 of the patent application preparation system 402 may then be configured to merge the extracted elements from the 3D design input file 406 and the information 410 associated with the3D object to prepare the design patent application. The output module 416 may be configured to format the design patent application in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency to which the design patent application will be submitted. Once prepared, the output module 416 may be configured to send the design patent application to a submission service 418 for submittal to the patent agency.

[0042] The examples in FIGS. 1 through 4 have been described using specific

configurations, modules, and systems to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object. Embodiments to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object are not limited to the specific configurations, modules, and systems according to these examples.

[0043] FIG. 5 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may be used to control preparation of a design patent application for a 3D object, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0044] For example, the computing device 500 may be used as a server, desktop computer, portable computer, smart phone, special purpose computer, or similar device such as a controller, a new component, a cluster of existing components in an operational system including a vehicle and a smart dwelling. In an example basic configuration 502, the computing device 500 may include one or more processors 504 and a system memory 506. A memory bus 508 may be used for communicating between the processor 504 and the system memory 506. The basic configuration 502 is illustrated in FIG. 5 by those components within the inner dashed line.

[0045] Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 504 may be of any type, including but not limited to a microprocessor (μΡ), a microcontroller (μθ), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor 504 may include one more levels of caching, such as a level cache memory 512, one or more processor cores 514, and registers 516. The example processor cores 514 may (each) include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An example memory controller 518 may also be used with the processor 504, or in some

implementations the memory controller 518 may be an internal part of the processor 504.

[0046] Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 506 may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. The system memory 506 may include an operating system 520, an application 522, and program data 524. The application 522 may include an input module 526 and an output module 527, which may be an integral part of the application or a separate application on its own. The input module 526 may be configured to receive design data for the 3D object and extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The input module 526 may further be configured to receive information associated with the 3D object, where the information comprises one or more other elements of the design patent application. The output module 527 may be configured to merge the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application in a format according to one or more requirements of a patent agency to which the design patent application is to be submitted. The program data 524 may include, among other data, process data 528 related to receiving, extracting, and merging elements of a design patent application to prepare the design patent application, as described herein.

[0047] The computing device 500 may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 502 and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller 530 may be used to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 502 and one or more data storage devices 532 via a storage interface bus 534. The data storage devices 532 may be one or more removable storage devices 536, one or more non-removable storage devices 538, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removable storage and the non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

[0048] The system memory 506, the removable storage devices 536, and the nonremovable storage devices 538 are examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), solid state drives, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to store the desired information and which may be accessed by the computing device 500. Any such computer storage media may be part of the computing device 500.

[0049] The computing device 500 may also include an interface bus 540 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (for example, one or more output devices 542, one or more peripheral interfaces 544, and one or more communication devices 546) to the basic configuration 502 via the bus/interface controller 530. Some of the example output devices 542 include a graphics processing unit 548 and an audio processing unit 550, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports 552. One or more example peripheral interfaces 544 may include a serial interface controller 554 or a parallel interface controller 556, which may be configured to communicate with external devices such as input devices (for example, keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (for example, printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 558. An example communication device 546 includes a network controller 560, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices 562 over a network communication link via one or more communication ports 564. The one or more other computing devices 562 may include servers, client devices, and comparable devices.

[0050] The network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A "modulated data signal" may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct- wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

[0051] The computing device 500 may be implemented as a part of a general purpose or specialized server, mainframe, or similar computer that includes any of the above functions. The computing device 500 may also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations.

[0052] Example embodiments may also include methods to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object. These methods can be implemented in any number of ways, including the structures described herein. One such way may be by machine operations, of devices of the type described in the present disclosure. Another optional way may be for one or more of the individual operations of the methods to be performed in conjunction with one or more human operators performing some of the operations while other operations may be performed by machines. These human operators need not be collocated with each other, but each can be only with a machine that performs a portion of the program. In other embodiments, the human interaction can be automated such as by pre-selected criteria that may be machine automated.

[0053] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object that may be performed by a computing device such as the computing device in FIG. 5, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. [0054] Example methods may include one or more operations, functions or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 622, 624, 626, and/or 628. The operations described in the blocks 622 through 628 may also be stored as computer-executable instructions in a computer- readable medium such as a computer-readable medium 620 of a computing device 610.

[0055] An example process to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object may begin with block 622, "RECEIVE DESIGN DATA FOR A 3D OBJECT," where an input module of a patent application preparation system may be configured to receive design data for a 3D object. The design data may be a 3D design input file generated by and received from a 3D design software or a 3D printing system, for example. In some embodiments, a search module of the patent application preparation system may be configured to search one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent

applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object, in response to the receipt of the design data.

[0056] Block 622 may be followed by block 624, "EXTRACT ONE OR MORE

ELEMENTS OF THE DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION FROM THE DESIGN DATA," where the input module of the patent application preparation system may be configured to extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The extracted elements may include a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings. The elements may be extracted by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file from which the drawings may be generated to include in the design patent application. The description of the one or more drawings of the 3D object may indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated by the input module based on the other extracted elements. In some embodiments, one or more characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. Example characteristics that may be modified include corner sharpness, smoothness of surfaces, cliff edges, flatness, seam visibility, parallelism, non- parallelism, spherical projection, hyperbolic projection, eccentricity, symmetry, and/or porosity.

[0057] Block 624 may be followed by block 626, "RECEIVE INFORMATION

ASSOCIATED WITH THE 3D OBJECT INCLUDING ONE OR MORE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION," where the input module of the patent application preparation system may be configured to receive information associated with the 3D object. The information may include one or more other elements of the design application, such as a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. In some examples, the input module may prompt an applicant of the design patent application to manually input the information through a client device. In other examples, if the applicant has other design patent applications that had been previously prepared by the patent application preparation system, the information associated with the 3D object may be automatically gathered from those previously prepared design patent applications.

[0058] Block 626 may be followed by block 628, "MERGE THE EXTRACTED

ELEMENTS FROM THE DESIGN DATA AND THE INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE 3D OBJECT TO PREPARE THE DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION," where an output module of the patent application preparation system may be configured to merge the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application. The design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency to which the application will be submitted. In some embodiments, the design patent application may then be sent to a submission service for submittal to the patent agency. In other embodiments, a submission module of the patent application preparation system may be configured to submit the design patent application electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with required fees, such as a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

[0059] The blocks included in the above described process are for illustration purposes. Automatic preparation of a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object may be implemented by similar processes with fewer or additional blocks. In some embodiments, the blocks may be performed in a different order. In some other embodiments, various blocks may be eliminated. In still other embodiments, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, or combined together into fewer blocks.

[0060] FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer program product, all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. [0061] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the computer program product 700 may include a signal bearing medium 702 that may also include one or more machine readable instructions 704 that, when executed by, for example, a processor, may provide the functionality described herein. Thus, for example, referring to the processor 504 in FIG. 5, an input module 526 and an output module 527 executed on the processor 504 may undertake one or more of the tasks shown in FIG. 7 in response to the instructions 704 conveyed to the processor 504 by the medium 702 to perform actions associated with automatically preparing a design patent application for a 3D object as described herein. Some of those instructions may include, for example, one or more instructions to receive design data for a 3D object, extract one or more elements of a design patent application from the design data, receive information associated with the 3D object including one or more other elements of the design patent application, and merge the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design application, according to some embodiments described herein.

[0062] In some implementations, the signal bearing medium 702 depicted in FIG. 7 may encompass a computer-readable medium 706, such as, but not limited to, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a digital tape, memory, etc. In some implementations, the signal bearing medium 702 may encompass a recordable medium 708, such as, but not limited to, memory, read/write (R/W) CDs, R/W DVDs, etc. In some implementations, the signal bearing medium 702 may encompass a communications medium 710, such as, but not limited to, a digital and/or an analog communication medium (for example, a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless

communication link, etc.). Thus, for example, the program product 700 may be conveyed to one or more modules of the processor 504 of FIG. 5 by an RF signal bearing medium, where the signal bearing medium 702 is conveyed by the wireless communications medium 710 (for example, a wireless communications medium conforming with the IEEE 802.11 standard).

[0063] According to some examples, methods executed at least in part on computing devices to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object are provided. An example method may include receiving design data for the 3D object, and extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The method may also include receiving information associated with the 3D object, where the information comprises one or more other elements of the design patent application, and merging the extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application.

[0064] In other examples, one or more design patent databases may be searched for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object in response to receiving the design data for the 3D object. The design data may include a 3D design input file. Extracting the one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data may include automatically selecting two- dimensional slides from the 3D design input file. One or more drawings may be generated to be included in the design patent application based on the two-dimensional slides that are selected from the 3D design input file. One or more characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application, where the characteristics may include corner sharpness, smoothness of surfaces, cliff edges, flatness, seam visibility, parallelism, non-parallelism, spherical projection, hyperbolic projection, eccentricity, symmetry, and/or porosity.

[0065] In further examples, the information associated with the 3D object may be received through manual input by an applicant of the design patent application. The information associated with the 3D object may be automatically gathered from previously prepared design patent applications of a same applicant. The design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency. The design patent application may be sent to a submission service for submittal to the patent agency. The design patent application may be submitted electronically to the patent agency. A filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee may be submitted in conjunction with the submitting of the design patent application.

[0066] According to some embodiments, systems for automatically preparing a design patent application for a 3D object are described. An example system may include an input module and an output module. The input module may be configured to receive design data for the 3D object, where one or more elements of the design patent application may be extracted from the design data, and receive information associated with the 3D object, where the information may include one or more other elements of the design patent application. The output module may be configured to merge extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, where the design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

[0067] In other embodiments, the example system may include a search module configured to search one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object. The example system may also include a submission module configured to submit the design patent application electronically to the patent agency, and submit a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee in conjunction with the submission of the design patent application. The design data may include a 3D design input file. The input module may be further configured to extract the elements of the design patent application from the design data by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file, and generate one or more drawings to be included in the design patent application based on the two-dimensional slides that are selected from the 3D design input file. The input module may be further configured to modify one or more characteristics of the drawings to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application.

[0068] In further embodiments, the elements extracted from the design data may include a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings, where the description of the drawings of the 3D object may indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format. The information associated with the 3D object may include a preamble, a cross- reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. The preamble may include a name of an applicant, a title of a design, and a brief description of a nature and intended use of the 3D object in which the design is embodied. The example system may further include one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to communicate with one or more of a 3D design service, a 3D printing service, and a search service. The example system may be integrated with one or more of a 3D design service, a 3D printing service, and a search service.

[0069] According to some examples, computing devices to automatically prepare a design patent application for a 3D object are described. An example computing device may include a memory configured to store instructions and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a design patent application preparation module in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory. The design patent application preparation module may be configured to receive design data for the 3D object, and extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data. The design patent application preparation module may be configured to receive information associated with the 3D object, where the information may include one or more other elements of the design patent application, and merge the extracted elements from the design data and information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, where the design patent application may be formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

[0070] In other examples, the design patent application preparation module may be further configured to send the prepared design patent application to a submission service for submittal to the patent agency. The design patent application preparation module may be further configured to submit the prepared design patent application electronically to the patent agency in

conjunction with a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

[0071] In further examples, the design patent application preparation module may be a plug-in tool for 3D object design software. The design patent application preparation module may be a plug-in tool for a 3D printer. The design patent application preparation module may be integrated with a service application, where the service application may be a third party service and the service application may be implemented as a web based service.

[0072] According to some embodiments, methods executed at least in part on a computing device to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object are provided. An example method may include receiving a 3D design input file for the 3D object, extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the 3D design input file, and prompting a user to manually input information associated with the 3D object, the information comprising one or more other elements of the design patent application. The example method may also include preparing the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the 3D object in a format in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency, and submitting the prepared design patent application electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee. [0073] In other embodiments, the 3D object may be scanned to generate the 3D design input file, where the 3D object may be scanned by a 3D printer or a 3D design software.

[0074] According to some examples, a computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object is described. The instructions, when executed on one or more computing device, may cause a method to be performed. The method may be similar to the example methods provided above.

EXAMPLES

[0075] Following are illustrative examples of how some embodiments may be

implemented, and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments in any way.

Example 1: Patent Application Preparation System to Automatically Prepare a Design Patent Application for a Square 3D Box

[0076] A patent application preparation system may be executed as a service application, which may be a third party service implemented as a web based service. The patent application preparation system may include an input module, a search module, an output module, and a submission module. The input module may be configured to receive design data for a square 3D box for which a design patent application is to be prepared. The design data may be received as a 3D design input file manually input by an applicant of the design patent application. The 3D design input file may be in a polygon (PLY) file format. The input module may extract a description of one or more drawings of the square 3D box, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings of the design patent application from the 3D design input file. Two- dimensional slides from the 3D design input file may be automatically selected to generate the drawings, the description of the drawings may indicate a particular view that the square 3D box represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated based on the drawings and the description of the drawings. Characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. For example, characteristics of the square 3D box such as corner sharpness may be modified in at least one of the drawings to broaden the scope of coverage.

[0077] The input module may then be configured to receive information associated with the square 3D box, such as a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. The information may be received through manual input by the applicant through an application executed on a client device, where the input module may prompt the applicant to input the information.

[0078] The search module may be configured to search one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the square 3D box. The search may be based on the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the square 3D box. Searching the design patent databases for similar 3D objects may help determine if the square 3D box is patentable over prior art in the design patent record. If the square 3D box is determined to be patentable over prior art, the patent application preparation system may proceed in preparing the design patent application. If the square 3D box is determined to not be patentable over prior art, the patent application preparation system may halt preparation and inform the applicant of the prior art causing the 3D object to be unpatentable. In light of the prior art, the applicant may modify or improve a design of the square 3D box to make the square 3D box distinct from the prior art and generate a new 3D design input file to be received by the patent application preparation system.

[0079] The output module may be configured to prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the square 3D box is in a format that is in accordance with one or more requirements of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a patent agency to which the design patent application is being submitted. The submission module may then be configured to submit the prepared design patent application electronically to USPTO. Required fees, such as a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee, may be submitted electronically in conjunction with the submission of the design patent application.

Example 2: Patent Application Preparation Module Integrated with a Printing Service to Automatically Prepare a Design Patent Application for a Cylindrical 3D Rolling Pin

[0080] A patent application preparation module, including an input module and an output module, may be integrated with a 3D printing service. Among other devices, the 3D printing service may include a 3D printer configured to produce a cylindrical 3D rolling pin. The 3D cylindrical 3D rolling pin may further be scanned by the 3D printer to generate a 3D design input file that includes design data for the cylindrical 3D rolling pin. The 3D design input file may be in a virtual reality modeling language (VRML) file format.

[0081] The input module may be configured to receive the 3D design input file from the 3D printer. The input module may extract a description of one or more drawings of the cylindrical 3D rolling pin, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings of the design patent application from the 3D design input file. Two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file may be automatically selected to generate the drawings, the description of the drawings may indicate a particular view that the cylindrical 3D rolling pin represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated based on the drawings and the description of the drawings. Characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. For example, characteristics of the cylindrical 3D rolling pin such as smoothness of surface may be modified in at least one drawing to broaden the scope of coverage.

[0082] The input module may then be configured to receive information associated with the cylindrical 3D rolling pin, such as a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. At least some of the information may be automatically gathered from previously prepared design applications from a same applicant. Remaining information may be received through manual input by the applicant through a client device, where the input module may be configured to prompt the applicant to input the information.

[0083] The output module may be configured to prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the cylindrical 3D rolling pin in a format that is in accordance with one or more requirements of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), a patent agency to which the design patent application is being submitted. The output module may then be configured to send the prepared design patent application to a submission service for submittal to KIPO.

Example 3: Patent Application Preparation System as a Plug-in Tool for 3D Design

Software to Automatically Prepare a Design Patent Application for Tapered 3D Tubing

[0084] A patent application preparation system, including an input module and an output module, may be a plug in tool for 3D design software executed by a 3D design service. The 3D design software may generate a 3D design input file that includes design data for tapered 3D tubing for which a design patent application is to be prepared. The 3D design input file may be in a stereolithography (STL) file format.

[0085] The input module may be configured to receive the 3D design input file from the 3D design software. The input module may extract a description of one or more drawings of the tapered 3D tubing, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings of the design patent application from the 3D design input file. Two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file may be automatically selected to generate the drawings, the description of the drawings may indicate a particular view that the tapered 3D tubing represents in each drawing generated, and the single claim may be in a standard claim format that may be automatically generated based on the drawings and the description of the drawings. Characteristics of the drawings may be modified to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application. For example, characteristics of the tapered 3D tubing such as eccentricity may be modified in at least one drawing to broaden the scope of coverage.

[0086] The input module may then be configured to receive information associated with the tapered 3D tubing, such as a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration. At least some of the information may be automatically gathered from previously prepared design applications from a same applicant. Remaining information may be received through manual input by the applicant through a client device, where the input module may prompt the applicant to input the information.

[0087] The output module may be configured to prepare the design patent application by merging the extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the tapered 3D tubing in a format that is in accordance with one or more requirements of multiple patent agencies to which the design patent application is being submitted. For example, the format for submission to the USPTO may be different for submission to KIPO, therefore two different formats of the same design patent application may be prepared. The output module may then be configured to send the two different formats of the prepared design patent application to a submission service for submittal to the USPTO and the KIPO, respectively. [0088] There are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein may be effected (for example, hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

[0089] While various compositions, methods, systems, and devices are described in terms of "comprising" various components or steps (interpreted as meaning "including, but not limited to"), the compositions, methods, systems, and devices can also "consist essentially of or "consist of the various components and steps, and such terminology should be interpreted as defining essentially closed-member groups."

[0090] The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, may be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (for example, as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (for example as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be possible in light of this disclosure.

[0091] The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, systems, or components, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

[0092] In addition, the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (for example, a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[0093] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein may be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non- volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops.

[0094] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that particular functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as "associated with" each other such that the particular functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermediate components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being "operably connected", or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the particular functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being "operably couplable", to each other to achieve the particular functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically connectable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

[0095] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0096] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (for example, bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (for example, the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term

"includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (for example, "a" and/or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (for example, the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

[0097] Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (for example, " a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

[0098] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as "up to," "at least," "greater than," "less than," and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0099] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments are possible. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method executed at least in part on a computing device to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object, the method comprising:

receiving design data for the 3D object;

extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data; receiving information associated with the 3D object, wherein the information comprises one or more other elements of the design patent application; and

merging the one or more extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the design data for the 3D object, searching one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the design data comprises a 3D design input file.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein extracting the one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data comprises:

automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

generating one or more drawings to be included in the design patent application based on the two-dimensional slides that are selected from the 3D design input file.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

modifying one or more characteristics of the drawings to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more characteristics comprises one or more of corner sharpness, smoothness of surfaces, cliff edges, flatness, seam visibility, parallelism, non- parallelism, spherical projection, hyperbolic projection, eccentricity, symmetry, and porosity.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the information associated with the 3D object comprises:

receiving the information associated with the 3D object through manual input by an applicant of the design patent application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the information associated with the 3D object comprises:

automatically gathering the information associated with the 3D object from previously prepared design patent applications of a same applicant.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

formatting the design patent application according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

sending the design patent application to a submission service for submittal to the patent agency.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

submitting the design patent application electronically to the patent agency.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

submitting a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee in conjunction with the submitting of the design patent application.

14. A system for automatically preparing a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object, the system comprising: an input module configured to:

receive design data for the 3D object, wherein one or more elements of the design patent application are extracted from the design data;

receive information associated with the 3D object, wherein the information comprises one or more other elements of the design patent application; and

an output module configured to:

merge the one or more extracted elements from the design data and the information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, wherein the design patent application is formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a search module configured to search one or more design patent databases for previously issued design patents, submitted design patent applications, or both, for other 3D objects that are similar to the 3D object.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising a submission module configured to:

submit the design patent application electronically to the patent agency; and

submit a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee in conjunction with the submission of the design patent application.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the design data comprises a 3D design input file.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the input module is further configured to extract the one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data by automatically selecting two-dimensional slides from the 3D design input file.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the input module is further configured to generate one or more drawings to be included in the design patent application based on the two-dimensional slides that are selected from the 3D design input file.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the input module is further configured to modify one or more characteristics of the drawings to broaden scope of coverage of the design patent application.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more elements extracted from the design data comprises a description of one or more drawings of the 3D object, a feature description, a single claim, and the drawings.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the description of the one or more drawings of the 3D object indicate a particular view that the 3D object represents in each drawing.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the single claim is in a standard claim format.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the information associated with the 3D object comprises a preamble, a cross-reference to one or more other design patent applications related to the prepared design patent application, a statement regarding federally sponsored research or development, and an executed oath or declaration.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the preamble comprises a name of an applicant, a title of a design, and a brief description of a nature and intended use of the 3D object in which the design is embodied.

26. The system of claim 14, further comprising one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to communicate with one or more of a 3D design service, a 3D printing service, and a search service.

27. The system of claim 14, wherein the system is integrated with one or more of a 3D design service, a 3D printing service, and a search service.

28. A computing device to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three- dimensional (3D) object, the computing device comprising: a memory configured to store instructions;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a design patent application preparation module in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, the design patent application preparation module configured to:

receive design data for the 3D object;

extract one or more elements of the design patent application from the design data;

merge the one or more extracted elements from the design data and information associated with the 3D object to prepare the design patent application, wherein the design patent application is formatted according to one or more requirements of a patent agency.

29. The computing device of claim 28, wherein the design patent application preparation module is further configured to send the prepared design patent application to a submission service for submittal to the patent agency.

30. The computing device of claim 28, wherein the design patent application preparation module is further configured to submit the prepared design patent application electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

31. The computing device of claim 28, wherein the design patent application preparation module is a plug-in tool for 3D object design software.

32. The computing device of claim 28, wherein the design patent application preparation module is a plug-in tool for a 3D printer.

33. The computing device of claim 28, wherein the design patent application preparation module is integrated with a service application.

34. The computing device of claim 33, wherein the service application is a third party service.

35. The computing device of claim 33, wherein the service application is implemented as a web based service.

36. A method executed at least in part on a computing device to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object, the method comprising:

receiving a 3D design input file for the 3D object;

extracting one or more elements of the design patent application from the 3D design input file;

prompting a user to manually input information associated with the 3D object, the information comprising one or more other elements of the design patent application;

preparing the design patent application by merging the one or more extracted elements from the 3D design input file and the information associated with the 3D object in a format in accordance with one or more requirements of a patent agency; and

submitting the prepared design patent application electronically to the patent agency in conjunction with a filing fee, a search fee, and an examination fee.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

scanning the 3D object to generate the 3D design input file.

38. A computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon to automatically prepare a design patent application for a three-dimensional (3D) object, the instructions causing a method to be performed when executed, wherein the method includes actions of claims 1 to 13.