Title 17 — CopyrightsRelease 119-73
§1305 Term of protection
Title 17 › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - PROTECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS › § 1305
Summary
Designs get protection for 10 years starting on the date protection begins. If that 10-year period would end partway through a year, the protection instead continues until December 31 of that year. When protection ends, all rights in that design stop, even if the design was used on many different articles.
Full Legal Text
Title 17, §1305
Copyrights — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Subject to subsection (b), the protection provided under this chapter for a design shall continue for a term of 10 years beginning on the date of the commencement of protection under section 1304.
(b)All terms of protection provided in this section shall run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.
(c)Upon expiration or termination of protection in a particular design under this chapter, all rights under this chapter in the design shall terminate, regardless of the number of different articles in which the design may have been used during the term of its protection.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
17 U.S.C. § 1305
Title 17 — Copyrights
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73