§1306 Design notice

Summary

When a design is made public under section 1310(b), the owner must, unless section 1307 says otherwise, put a clear design notice on the item. The notice must show one of these marks — the words Protected Design, the abbreviation Prot’d Des., a circled D, or the symbol *D* — and it must also show the year protection started and the owner’s name or a short name people will recognize. After registration, the registration number can be used instead of the year and name. The notice must be placed so people can see it while the product moves through normal commerce. If the owner followed these rules, the design’s protection still counts even if someone else removes or destroys the mark.