---
title: "Record the grant date of a design patent against the term rule"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-design-right-renewal-against-the-office-pages/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-LA20261022-15-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Record the grant date of a design patent against the term rule

> Record whether a design patent has been granted and the grant date the file states. Leave the expiry year blank. Do not record a maintenance fee.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-design-right-renewal-against-the-office-pages/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Record whether a design patent has been granted and the grant date the file states. Leave the expiry year blank. Do not record a maintenance fee. |
| What the lawyer must review | Section 173 says patents for designs shall be granted for the term of 15 years from the date of grant. The amendment note says the 2012 act substituted 15 years for fourteen years. The statutory note on the same page says that amendment is effective on the later of the date that is one year after 18 December 2012, or the date the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs enters into force with respect to the United States, which the note gives as 13 May 2015, and that it applies only to certain applications filed on and after that effective date and patents issuing on them. You confirm which sentence applies to a patent granted before that change. Section 41(b)(3) says no fee may be established for maintaining a design or plant patent in force. You do not record a renewal fee for a design patent from that sentence. The tool states no expiry year. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check a design right renewal against the office pages](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-design-right-renewal-against-the-office-pages.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record whether a design patent has been granted and the grant date the file states. Leave the expiry year blank. Do not record a maintenance fee.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The operative sentence states 15 years from grant. You confirm whether an earlier grant uses the earlier sentence.
- Section 41(b)(3) states no maintenance fee for a design patent. The tool records none.

## Sources

- [35 U.S.C. § 173 (term of design patent)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/173) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [35 U.S.C. § 41(b)(3) (no maintenance fee for a design patent)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/41) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*