ANTE™ Playing Cards
When our client created a very unique-looking deck of playing cards with a plastic case, they asked us to obtain a design patent. We were struck by the novelty of the concept and, after studying the results of a patentability search, we recommended that the client file a utility patent application which we felt had the potential of protecting not only the particular embodiment of the ANTE™ cards, but equivalents that may have a different appearance. The ANTE™ cards have been a runaway commercial success, and the utility patent - U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,799- has been successfully asserted against a half-dozen knock-offs. Later, we also obtained a design patent - U.S. Pat. No. D483,418 - covering a specific improvement to the original concept.
