The US toy industry generates roughly $41.68 billion a year in retail sales, and the category has been on a genuine upswing lately, with dollar sales up 6% in 2025 after two flat years (Circana data via ClickPost). That kind of growth brings a wave of new product development, from building sets and STEM kits to smart, connected play. It also brings a lot of competition. Every toy maker, from major brands to first-time inventors, is racing to get a novel mechanism, sensor, or design in front of kids and parents before someone else does.
As an Orange County patent attorney since 2004, and an engineer before that, I understand the mechanical, electronic, and safety engineering that goes into toy design, and I can write claims that accurately capture what makes your invention unique and defensible. Toy patents often overlap with Mechanical & Machinery Patents, Electronics Patents, and general Consumer Products Patents, so I approach every toy invention with an eye toward all of the angles that might be worth protecting, whether that’s a mechanism, an electronic sensor, or the ornamental look of the product itself.
Do you have a toy invention you’d like to protect? Contact me, James Yang, for a free initial consultation. I work with inventors throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, and across the United States. Schedule Your Free Consultation
My Experience in Toy Patents
The following are examples of toy and play-device patents I have helped secure. Click any patent number to view the full record on Google Patents.
Granted: Patent No. US 7,450,025. A position sensor built into an interactive electronic toy. The sensor detects the toy’s orientation or position and generates different output signals depending on how it’s being handled, which is the kind of building block that lets a toy “know” what a kid is doing with it and react accordingly, whether that’s a sound, a light, or a movement.
I’ve also secured patents for coin-operated amusement machines, which aren’t toys in the traditional sense but involve a lot of the same electronic and mechanical play-device engineering. I’m including them here as a related, adjacent example of the kind of work I do in this space:
Granted: Patent Family Nos. US 10,467,983 & US 8,773,452. A color display converter that lets an older pinball machine, built around an early-generation dot matrix display, connect to and run a newer, later-generation display. It’s a clever retrofit solution that keeps vintage amusement hardware compatible with modern electronics.
Pending: Application No. US 2025/0065219. A rollover slot protector for pinball machines, designed to shield the playfield around a rollover slot from wear while still letting the mechanism work exactly as intended.
Related Industries
Ready to Protect Your Toy Idea?
Whether you’ve designed a new mechanism, an interactive electronic feature, or the overall look of a toy, I can help you navigate the patent process from search to grant.
Contact me for a free initial consultation. Schedule Your Free Consultation