17 U.S.C. § 1302
Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
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.