Designs in USA (United States of America)

Design applications filed on or after May 13, 2015 shall have the term of fifteen years from the date of grant. The term of a design patent is non-extendable. 

• Ornamentality;
• Novelty;
• Non-obviousness;
• Enablement and definiteness

The applicant may request that the Office expedite the examination of a design application.

Following criteria to qualify for expedited examination:

(1) The application must include drawings;

(2) The applicant must have conducted a pre-examination search; and

(3) The applicant must file a request for expedited examination including:

• fee; and
• A statement that a pre-examination search was conducted. The statement must also indicate the field of search and include an information disclosure statement.

Note: The Office will not examine an application that is not in condition for examination (e.g., missing basic filing fee) even if the applicant files a request for expedited examination under this section.

• The elements of the design application, if applicable, should appear in the following order:

• Design application transmittal form.
• Fee transmittal form.
• Application data sheet.
• Specification.
• Drawings or photographs.
• Executed oath or declaration.

• The specification should include the following sections in order:

• Preamble, stating the name of the applicant, title of the design, and a brief description of the nature and intended use of the article in which the design is embodied.
• Cross-reference to related applications (unless included in the application data sheet).
• Statement regarding federally sponsored research or development.
• Description of the figure or figures of the drawing.
• Feature description.
• A single claim.

(c) The text of the specification sections defined in paragraph (b) of this section, if applicable, should be preceded by a section heading in uppercase letters without underlining or bold type.

A design patent application must include the following elements:

• Preamble, stating name of the applicant, title of the design*, and a brief description of the nature and intended use of the article in which the design is embodied;
• Cross-reference to related applications (unless included in the application data sheet).
• Statement regarding federally sponsored research or development.
• Description of the figure(s) of the drawing (No description, other than a reference to the drawing, is ordinarily required);
• Feature description;
• A single claim (More than one claim is not permitted);
• Drawings or photographs;
• Executed oath or declaration.

*The title of the design must designate particular article.