A design patent has long been available in the United States for protecting the ornamental appearance of an article of manufacture (sometimes referred to as an "industrial design"). Thus, design patents can be generally thought of as covering the way things look, instead of the way they work, and in this respect are distinguishable from utility patents.

Previously, a U.S. citizen or resident who wanted to protect an industrial design outside the United States would have to file individual design patent (or industrial design registration) applications in each country in which protection was desired.  However, the United States has now completed its ratification of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs ("Hague Agreement") with the International Bureau of World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"). Consequently, effective May 13, 2015, U.S. citizens who own protectable designs may file an international design patent application that may be extended into any of 62 other countries ¹ . Many of the industrialized countries of the world are signatories to the Hague Agreement, although Canada, China and Russia are not.

U.S. applicants will be able to file an international design patent application, in either the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the International Bureau of WIPO, in much the same way that U.S. utility patent applicants have been able to file an international utility patent application pursuant to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is expected to issue its rules for handling design patent applications under the Hague Agreement within a few weeks. One change that is expected is that U.S. design patents resulting from international design applications filed on or after May 13, 2015 pursuant to the Hague Agreement will have a 15-year term from the date of issue instead of the current 14-year term for U.S. design patents.
                                                                                                         

 ¹ It is expected that Japan will also become a member of the Hague Agreement at the same time.