A design patent is granted by a government to protect the designer (called the "inventor" on the patent) for the way an article looks. All design patents reproduced on this website were granted by the U.S. government and remained in effect for a maximum of seven years (more commonly, three and a half years). An item was produced as soon as the design patent was issued or even when it was pending because the application process could take many months. A 1955 court decision in a lawsuit involving Trifari and Charel granting costume jewelry protection under the U.S. copyright laws nearly ended the use of design patents by jewelry manufacturers.
Design patents are useful tools for identifying both the year a particular piece was designed and its designer. A patent was applied for in the name of an individual, unless the application was made on behalf of a third party (an assignee), whose name was stated on the patent. Design patents each have six-digit numbers that are preceded by the letter "D". The first page of each patent shows the design from two different angles, usually the front and the side. The second page contains only verbiage stating the name of the person to whom the patent is granted, the assignee (if any), the term of the patent and the inventor's statement that the design is original.
The design patents reproduced here are for pieces that are now or have been in the TruFaux Jewels collection. For space reasons, only the first page of each patent, which contains the technical drawings, appears.
Bogoff Designs
D 159,778 Issued to Herman Bogoff in 1950
Marcel Boucher Designs
D 161, 240 Issued to Marcel Boucher in 1950
Coro Designs
| D 131,776 Issued to Adolph Katz | D 133,966 Issued to Massa Raimond |
| for Cohn & Rosenberger in 1942 | in 1942 |
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| D 134,984 Issued to Adolph Katz | D 136,506 Issued to Adolph Katz |
| for Cohn & Rosenberger in 1943 | for Coro in 1943 |
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| D 140,602 Issued to Adolph Katz | D 140,941 Issued to Adolph Katz |
| for Coro in 1945 | for Coro in 1945 |
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| D 140,948 Issued to Adolph Katz | D 143,213 Issued to Adolph Katz |
| for Coro in 1945 | for Coro in 1945 |
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| D 147,442 Issued to Adolph Katz for Coro | D 168,551 Issued to Adolph Katz for Coro |
| in 1947 (Applied for in 1946) | in 1953 (Applied for in 1952) |
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| D170,994 Issued to Adolph Katz | D171,336 Issued to Adolph Katz for Coro |
| for Coro in 1953 | in 1954 (Applied for in 1953) |
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| D 173,496 Issued to Adolph Katz | |
| for Coro in 1954 | |
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Hobé Designs
| D 131,847 Issued to William W. Hobé | D 152,081 Issued to William W. Hobé |
| in 1947 | in 1948 |
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