Proto Wins Design Patent for Proto M Holographic Display
2026-08-03 · via Digital Signage Today
Proto Inc. has been granted U.S. Design Patent No. D1,134,257 S for the design of its Proto M holographic display, according to a company press release. The patent was filed February 22, 2023, and lists Proto founder David Nussbaum alongside co-inventors Doug Barry, Edward Ginis and Raphael Kryszek.
For operators looking at holographic displays as an alternative to standard digital signage, this is mostly a legal housekeeping move rather than a product announcement. Design patents protect the ornamental appearance of a product, not how it works. Proto already holds U.S. Utility Patent No. 11,428,952 covering its core holographic display and image-capture method, along with patent recognition in Canada and Mexico. The new design patent adds a layer of protection specifically around the physical form of the Proto M unit.
Raphael Kryszek, Proto's chief product and AI officer, said in the release that the patent "recognizes the original design work behind Proto M" and that the company built the device to bring the presence of its larger holographic systems into a smaller footprint. He tied the announcement to Proto's newer M2 model, saying protecting the design matters as the holographic display category grows.
Proto positions the M and M2 as tools for hologram communication and what it calls AI spatial computing, aimed at use cases in healthcare, education, retail, finance, sports and entertainment. The release says the products are already deployed with what Proto describes as dozens of repeat Fortune 500 clients, though it does not name them or give install numbers.
What the announcement does not cover is any detail on pricing, screen specifications, or how the M2 differs technically from the original M beyond size and form factor. There is also no mention of how this patent affects competitors building similar volumetric or pepper's-ghost style display technology, a category that includes several other hologram and holographic fan display vendors selling into retail and events.
For digital signage buyers, the practical takeaway is limited: this is Proto tightening its intellectual property position, not a new hardware release or price change. Anyone evaluating holographic displays as an addition to a signage network should still ask Proto directly for specs, pricing and case studies rather than relying on the patent news itself as a buying signal.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from Digital Signage Today for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
Proto Inc., a hologram communications and AI spatial compute platform, has been granted U.S. Design Patent No. D1,134,257 S by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covering the design of the Proto M holographic display.
The patent lists Proto Founder David Nussbaum alongside co-inventors Doug Barry, Edward Ginis and Raphael Kryszek, and was filed February 22, 2023, according to a press release.
The design patent adds to Proto's growing intellectual property portfolio, which already includes U.S. Utility Patent No. 11,428,952 for Proto's core holographic display and image-capture method, along with international patent recognition in Canada and Mexico.
"This patent recognizes the original design work behind Proto M," Raphael Kryszek, chief product and AI officer at Proto, said in the release. "We created it to make holographic communication and AI spatial computing more accessible, bringing the presence and connection of our full-size systems into a compact format that fits naturally into more spaces. That vision continues with M2, and as the category grows, protecting the innovations that helped define it matters more than ever."
The Proto M and the next generation M2 are in use by Proto's dozens of repeat Fortune 500 clients and in healthcare, education, retail, finance, sports and entertainment.
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