35 U.S.C. § 171
Section 171 · Patents for designs
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 225 court decisions — leading case Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. (1989)
Most recently applied in Lkq Corporation v. Gm Global Technology Operations LLC (May 2024)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 35 U.S.C. § 103 · 35 U.S.C. § 102 · 35 U.S.C. § 282
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) In General.—Whoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
(b) Applicability of This Title.—The provisions of this title relating to patents for inventions shall apply to patents for designs, except as otherwise provided.
(c) Filing Date.—The filing date of an application for patent for design shall be the date on which the specification as prescribed by section 112 and any required drawings are filed.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §73 (R.S. 4929, amended (1) May 9, 1902, ch. 783, 32 Stat. 193, (2) Aug. 5, 1939, ch. 450, §1, 53 Stat. 1212; R.S. 4933).
The list of conditions specified in the corresponding section of existing statute is omitted as unnecessary in view of the general inclusion of all conditions applying to other patents. Language is changed.
Amendments
2012—Pub. L. 112–211 designated first and second pars. as subsecs. (a) and (b), respectively, inserted headings, and added subsec. (c).
Effective Date of 2012 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 112–211 effective on the date that is 1 year after Dec. 18, 2012, applicable to patents issued before, on, or after that effective date and patent applications pending on or filed after that effective date, and not effective with respect to patents in litigation commenced before that effective date, see section 203 of Pub. L. 112–211, set out as an Effective Date note under section 27 of this title.