What is a design patent?

A design patent protects the visual appearance or ornamental design of a functional product, not the product’s structure or how it works. This includes shapes, surface patterns, or overall aesthetics that make a product look unique.

While a utility patent protects how something works, a design patent protects how something looks.

To qualify for design patent protection, a design must:

• Be new and original
• Be non-functional (purely ornamental)
• Be visible during normal use of the product
  

National or regional patent offices grant design patents, such as the USPTO or EUIPO (wwhere the offices call them registered community designs or industrial designs depending on the jurisdiction). In the U.S., a design patent typically lasts 15 years from the grant date, with no renewal fees required. In other regions, the term and renewal rules may vary.

Design patents are part of the broader intellectual property system, offering creators a way to protect their product aesthetics and prevent lookalike imitations, alongside patents, trademarks, and copyrights.