• Design fees

Fees associated with filing industrial design applications in the USA, as well as other design fees, are available in the fee calculator.

• Multiple design applications

Multiple embodiments of a single concept may be filed in one design application, so long as their appearance and shape are similar.

• Filing requirements of a design application in the US

The official language of a US design application is English.

An application must contain at least the following:
- application data sheet (if claiming priority to earlier-filed applications);
- executed oath or declaration (may be submitted after filing date);
- specification of design with one claim;
- drawings.

There is no deadline for filing a Power of Attorney in a design application. However, it should be done before the decision to grant a design patent. A copy of POA is sufficient. Legalization or notarization is not required.

The Priority Document can be submitted at any time during registration of the design application, up to the date of payment of the issue fee. However, if priority must be perfected during registration, then a priority document will be required sooner. A priority document that is not in English must be translated into English and the translation submitted along with a copy of the original priority document.

The deadline for filing a US design application claiming conventional priority is six months from the date of priority. The right to file the design application may be restored in case failure to meet the deadline was unintentional and if the corresponding request is submitted and the corresponding fee is paid within two months of the expiration of the six-month period.

• Examination of a design application in the US

A design application filed in the US Patent Office undergoes both formal and substantive examinations. Substantive examination should be requested simultaneously with filing.

• Information Disclosure Statement 

The applicant is obliged to disclose by way of an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS), any information that could be considered to be material to a determination of patentability of the claimed design. This duty extends to an applicant’s legal representative and anyone involved in the registration of the application. The information can be of any type, and includes but is not limited to prior art. The duty continues until a patent is issued or the application is abandoned. An intentional failure to submit an IDS may result in a later declaration of the design patent as unenforceable.

If the IDS is filed within three months from the application’s filing date or before the first Office Action, no government fee is required to be paid for the filing of an IDS.

In case any information contained in the IDS was first cited in communication from a foreign patent office in a counterpart foreign application more than 3 months prior to filing of said IDS, or was otherwise known to the applicant or applicant’s representative more than 3 months prior to filing the IDS, additional official fees must be paid.

• Novelty grace period

The novelty grace period for design applications in the US constitutes 12 months before the US filing date or before the priority date, if:
- the disclosure was made by the inventor or by a person who obtained the information from the designer (directly or indirectly);
- the disclosure occurs after a public disclosure of the same design by the parties set forth above.

• Grant, validity term and design renewal fees

The issue fee for a U.S. design patent is due three months from the date of issuance of the Notice of Allowance. Design patents that were filed on or after May 13, 2015, have a term of 15 years from the date of issuance. Design patents filed prior to May 13, 2015, have a term of 14 years from the date of issuance. U.S. design patents are not subject to maintenance fees or annuities.

• Duration of registration procedure

Registration of a design application takes between 1-3 years dependent on whether the design process is smooth or if there are oppositions filed.

• Representation by a patent attorney

Creators may file and prosecute their applications in the US Patent Office. However, it is recommended that the services of a patent attorney or patent agent, registered with the US Patent Office, be utilised.

•  Note

Online Search Database for International Designs.

Brief summary is based on the information provided by Soroker, Agmon, Nordman on 19.02.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with the US IP Laws.