Try entering "design patent" in the search box; the topic has been discussed numerous times before.

@Characters

Getting a design patent is like getting any other kind of patent. The same steps, costs, etc...
In the case of typefaces, there is so much prior art that your typeface is bound to be similar to in some ways that I can't imagine attempting it without professional (and expensive) legal help.
Mind if I ask what the purpose is? In other words, what do you hope to gain?

rich

@Richard: I'm not going to patent a font myself. I run a knowledge base for my graphic design studio and this is one of the topics out there. Someone pointed out that it's possible to patent a font, so I want to do some research and update my article.

@Nick: Will do! I did a search before, but didn't find anything usefull though. I'll click a bit deeper in the search results. ;-)