Title 17 — CopyrightsRelease 119-73not60
§1302 Designs Not Subject to Protection
Title 17 › Chapter 13— PROTECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS › § 1302
Summary
Designs are not protected if they aren't original, are common or standard (like simple shapes, familiar symbols, emblems, or usual patterns), differ only in minor trade variations, are shaped only because of how the product works, or were made public in the United States or another country more than 2 years before the registration application.
Full Legal Text
Title 17, §1302
Copyrights — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Protection under this chapter shall not be available for a design that is—
(1)not original;
(2)staple or commonplace, such as a standard geometric figure, a familiar symbol, an emblem, or a motif, or another shape, pattern, or configuration which has become standard, common, prevalent, or ordinary;
(3)different from a design excluded by paragraph (2) only in insignificant details or in elements which are variants commonly used in the relevant trades;
(4)dictated solely by a utilitarian function of the article that embodies it; or
(5)embodied in a useful article that was made public by the designer or owner in the United States or a foreign country more than 2 years before the date of the application for registration under this chapter.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1999—Par. (5). Pub. L. 106–44 substituted “2 years” for “1 year”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
17 U.S.C. § 1302
Title 17 — Copyrights
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60