Emeryville, CA asked in Patents (Intellectual Property) for California

Q: Would it be possible to patent a refrigerated tear drop style camper?

I would like to attempt a new business idea that would involve a utilizing a refrigerated tear drop camper style trailer and would like to know if there is any proprietary rights to this.

2 Lawyer Answers
Liliana Di Nola-Baron
Liliana Di Nola-Baron
Answered
  • Patents Lawyer
  • Washington, DC

A: It would be best to hire a patent attorney to do a patentability search. But in the meantime you may want to check databases such as Google Patents and the USPTO web site by entering the terms that best describe your invention.

Stephen E. Zweig
Stephen E. Zweig pro label Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
Answered
  • Patents Lawyer
  • Los Gatos, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: It will be difficult to patent the business idea itself. The USPTO tends to be unfriendly to business method patent applications.

In terms of the trailer, it also will not be easy. Refrigerated trailers are known, and tear-drop camper style trailers (with air conditioners) are also known. So, unless there are some unique aspects to the design, the patent examiner will try to reject a utility patent application on the trailer as being obvious.

But if you have any tricky design ideas, it might be possible to file for design or utility patents in these areas.

You could also file for trademark coverage on the business name.

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