---
title: "Compare a design-patent application with the filing requirements"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/compare-a-design-application-with-the-designs-act-2003-compilation-befor/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-B15-4-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Compare a design-patent application with the filing requirements

> List whether the file contains a specification, drawings, and a description of the article of manufacture, each with the page. Write no sentence of the application.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/compare-a-design-application-with-the-designs-act-2003-compilation-befor/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 | List whether the file contains a specification, drawings, and a description of the article of manufacture, each with the page. Write no sentence of the application. |
| What the lawyer must review | 35 U.S.C. § 171(a) provides that whoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a patent, subject to the conditions and requirements of the title. Section 171(b) applies the invention-patent provisions except as otherwise provided. Section 171(c) makes the filing date the date on which the specification as prescribed by § 112 and any required drawings are filed. You decide whether the design is ornamental and new, and you sign the application. The comparison only shows which parts are in the file. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Compare a design application with the Designs Act 2003 compilation before it is lodged](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/compare-a-design-application-with-the-designs-act-2003-compilation-befor.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List whether the file contains a specification, drawings, and a description of the article of manufacture, each with the page. Write no sentence of the application.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- A design patent is not a copyright and not a trade mark registration. Section 171 is the design-patent route.
- The Office's drawing rules sit outside § 171(c). Open them before the drawings are treated as required drawings.

## Sources

- [35 U.S.C. § 171 (patents for designs)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/171) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [35 U.S.C. § 112 (specification)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/112) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Design comparison before lodgement or allegation](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/design-prior-art-comparison.md) | Form | Yellow | Comparison of a design with earlier designs against newness and distinctiveness. The lawyer decides. The form does not say the design is registrable. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

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