# MPEP § 1505: Term of Design Patent

> Federal · Agency guidance · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1505

## Section

- **Citation:** MPEP § 1505
- **Heading:** Term of Design Patent
- **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 § 1505

## Text

35 U.S.C. 173
Term of design patent.
Patents issued from design applications filed on or after May 13, 2015
shall be granted for the term of fifteen years from the date of grant.
On December 18, 2012, the Patent Law Treaties
Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) was signed into law. The PLTIA among other things sets
forth provisions implementing the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Industrial Designs (“Hague Agreement”). These provisions
(Title I of the PLTIA) took effect on May 13, 2015. As a result, U.S. design patents
resulting from applications filed on or after May 13, 2015
have a 15 year term
from the date of grant
. However, patents issued from design applications
filed before May 13, 2015 have a 14 year term from the date of grant.
[top]

## 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)

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S1505. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.