How to use the design patent term calculator
Two things differ from the Korean design right, and both change the answer. A United States design patent runs for 15 years, not 20, and the clock starts on the grant date rather than the filing date. Anyone converting a Korean filing habit to a US portfolio will get the wrong expiry date if either point is missed, so this calculator asks for both dates and applies the US rule.
How the dates are counted — the term is measured in whole years from the grant date and ends on the matching calendar day, with the last day of the month used when that day does not exist. The remaining-time figure treats the expiration date itself as still inside the term, and the public domain line is simply the day after it, so all three figures rest on the same rule.
Legal basis — 35 U.S.C. 173 sets the design patent term at 15 years from grant for applications filed on or after May 13, 2015, when the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act took effect; design applications filed before that date carry a 14-year term. Design patents carry no maintenance fees (37 C.F.R. 1.362(b)), so nothing has to be paid mid-term to keep them alive. Figures are current as of September 2026.
This calculator is for reference only and is not legal advice. Consult a registered patent attorney about your specific situation.
Frequently asked questions
Congress wrote the design patent term that way in 35 U.S.C. 173, unlike the utility patent term in 35 U.S.C. 154, which runs 20 years from the earliest filing date. A slow examination therefore does not shorten a design patent.
There is no renewal for design patents and no maintenance fee schedule. Term adjustment rules that lengthen utility patents are not generally available here, so treat the grant date plus the applicable term as the end point.