Us Code § 173 - Term of design patent
Full text of Us Code United States Code § 173 — Term of design patent, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 173. Term of design patent
Patents for designs shall be granted for the term of 15 years from the date of grant.
(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 805; Pub. L. 97–247, §16, Aug. 27, 1982, 96 Stat. 321; Pub. L. 103–465, title V, §532(c)(3), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4987; Pub. L. 112–211, title I, §102(7), Dec. 18, 2012, 126 Stat. 1532.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §77 (R.S. 4931). Language is changed slightly.
Editorial Notes
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".
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
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.
CHAPTER 17—SECRECY OF CERTAIN INVENTIONS AND FILING APPLICATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRY
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, §13206(a)(10), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1904, substituted "to" for "of" in item 183.
About This Section
35 U.S.C. § 173 is part of Title 35 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.
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