# MPEP § 1502: Definition of a Design

> Federal · Agency guidance · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1502

## Section

- **Citation:** MPEP § 1502
- **Heading:** Definition of a Design
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Agency guidance
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** USPTO MPEP / Chapter 1500 - Design Patents / MPEP § 1502

## Text

In a design patent application, the subject matter which is claimed is the
design embodied in or applied to an article of manufacture (or portion thereof) and
not
the article itself.
Ex parte Cady,
1916
C.D. 62, 232 O.G. 621 (Comm’r Pat. 1916). “
[35 U.S.C.] 171
refers, not to the
design of an article, but to the design for an article, and is inclusive of ornamental
designs of all kinds including surface ornamentation as well as configuration of goods.”
In re Zahn,
617 F.2d 261, 204 USPQ 988 (CCPA 1980).
The design for an article consists of the visual characteristics embodied
in or applied to an article.
Since a design is manifested in appearance, the subject matter of a design
patent application may relate to the configuration or shape of an article, to the surface
ornamentation applied to an article, or to the combination of configuration and surface
ornamentation.
Design is inseparable from the article to which it is applied and cannot
exist alone merely as a scheme of surface ornamentation. It must be a definite,
preconceived thing, capable of reproduction and not merely the chance result of a method.
See
In re SurgiSil, L.L.P.,
14 F.4th 1380, 1382, 2021 USPQ2d 1008 (Fed.
Cir. 2021) (“A design claim is limited to the article of manufacture identified in the
claim; it does not broadly cover a design in the abstract.”);
Curver Luxembourg,
SARL v. Home Expressions, Inc.,
938 F.3d 1334, 1340, 2019 USPQ2d 341902 (Fed.
Cir. 2019) (noting “that long-standing precedent, unchallenged regulation, and agency
practice all consistently support the view that design patents are granted only for a
design applied to an article of manufacture, and not a design
per se
”).

## Nearby sections

- [MPEP § 1501 Statutes and Rules Applicable](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1501.md)
- [MPEP § 1502 Definition of a Design](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1502.md)
- [MPEP § 1502.01 Distinction Between Design and Utility Patents](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1502.01.md)
- [MPEP § 1502.02 Design Patent Practitioner Bar](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1502.02.md)
- [MPEP § 1503 Elements of a Design Patent Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. chapter 16](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1503.md)
- [MPEP § 1503.01 Specification](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1503.01.md)
- [MPEP § 1503.02 Drawing](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1503.02.md)
- [MPEP § 1504 Examination](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01 Statutory Subject Matter for Designs](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01.md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01(a) Computer-Generated Electronic Images](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01(a).md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01(b) Design Comprising Multiple Articles or Multiple Parts Embodied in a Single Article](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01(b).md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01(c) Lack of Ornamentality](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01(c).md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01(d) Simulation](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01(d).md)
- [MPEP § 1504.01(e) Offensive Subject Matter](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1504.01(e).md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1502. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.