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[Miranda J.]

My mother and I have just started a crafting business and are creating a number of original items out of various materials.  We'd like to protect ourselves as best we can and we know crafters are always copying from each other with the occasional tweak.  Because of this we're wondering if it's at all possible to patent any of our ideas to keep it from being copyable or are crafts just not patentable?  The official patent office website doesn't seem to have info re: this.  Would anyone know where I can find this info short of actually hiring a lawyer?

[JimIvey]

I wish I could be more specific than "It depends," but that's the answer.

It comes down to being novel and non-obvious.  The problem with crafts is that they've been very creative for a very long time, so even new combinations can be cogently argued to be obvious -- since, in crafts, unusual combinations are commonplace.  The motive for combination becomes important in arguing over obviousness -- and an aesthetic motivation can be rather easy to find in crafts of the past.

In short, I'd say it's possible but not particularly likely.  You could very well find yourself in an uphill battle in the Patent Office.

You may consider copyright and/or trademark protection.  Copyright would protect you against "derivative works" -- so some small changes won't avoid infringement.  For trademark protection, you'd have to establish that some aspects of your designs identify you and/or your company as the source of your articles.  I'd recommend that you explore those options with professionals that advise on copyright and/or trademarks.  There are forums at this site for those topics.

Regards.