17 USC § 1302 - Designs not subject to protection

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t17/s1302"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "17 USC § 1302 - Designs not subject to protection"
title_number: 17
title_name: "COPYRIGHTS"
section_number: "1302"
section_name: "Designs not subject to protection"
chapter_number: 13
chapter_name: "PROTECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 105–304, title V, § 502, Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2906; amended Pub. L. 106–44, § 1(f)(1), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 222.)"
---


# § 1302. Designs not subject to protection

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.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 105–304, title V, § 502, Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2906; amended Pub. L. 106–44, § 1(f)(1), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 222.)

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1999—Par. (5).  substituted “2 years” for “1 year”.