35 U.S.C. § 173
Section 173 · Term of design patent
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 13 court decisions — leading case Stormy Clime Ltd. v. Progroup, Inc. (1987)
Most recently applied in 811 F. Supp. 2d 766 - Park B. Smith, Inc. v. Chf Industries Inc. (July 2011)
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.
Patents for designs shall be granted for the term of 15 years from the date of grant.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §77 (R.S. 4931). Language is changed slightly.
Amendments
2012—Pub. L. 112–211 substituted "15 years" for "fourteen years".
1994—Pub. L. 103–465 inserted "from the date of grant" after "years".
1982—Pub. L. 97–247 substituted "Patents for designs shall be granted for the term of fourteen years" for "Patents for designs may be granted for the term of three years and six months, or for seven years, or for fourteen years, as the applicant, in his application, elects".
Effective Date of 2012 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 112–211 effective on the later of the date that is 1 year after Dec. 18, 2012, or the date that the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs enters into force with respect to the United States (May 13, 2015), and applicable only to certain applications filed on and after that effective date and patents issuing thereon, see section 103 of Pub. L. 112–211, set out as a note under section 100 of this title.
Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective 6 months after Dec. 8, 1994, and applicable to all patent applications filed in the United States on or after that effective date, with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(b)(1), (3) of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–247 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 17(a) of Pub. L. 97–247, set out as a note under section 41 of this title.