Classification of design patents is based on the concept of function or intended use of the industrial design disclosed and claimed in the Design patent. Industrial designs that have the same function are generally collected in the same Design class, even though individual designs may be used in different environments.
For example, patented designs for seating are classified in class D6, Furnishings, even though these designs may be used in the home, workplace, vehicles, etc. Industrial designs of the same function are further classified by specific functional features, distinctive ornamental appearance, or form.
U.S. Design patents are classified into 33 classes of subject matter:
D1 Edible Products
D2 Apparel and Haberdashery
D3 Travel Goods, Personal Belongings, and Storage or Carrying Articles
D4 Brushware
D5 Textile or Paper Yard Goods; Sheet Material
D6 Furnishings
D7 Equipment for Preparing or Serving Food or Drink Not Elsewhere Specified
D8 Tools and Hardware
D9 Packages and Containers for Goods
D10 Measuring, Testing or Signaling Instruments
D11 Jewelry, Symbolic Insignia, and Ornaments
D12 Transportation
D13 Equipment for Production, Distribution, or Transformation of Energy
D14 Recording, Communication, or Information Retrieval Equipment
D15 Machines Not Elsewhere Specified
D16 Photography and Optical Equipment
D17 Musical Instruments
D18 Printing and Office Machinery
D19 Office Supplies; Artists' and Teachers' Materials
D20 Sales and Advertising Equipment
D21 Games, Toys and Sports Goods
D22 Arms, Pyrotechnics, Hunting and Fishing Equipment
D23 Environmental Heating and Cooling, Fluid Handling and Sanitary Equipment
D24 Medical and Laboratory Equipment
D25 Building Units and Construction Elements
D26 Lighting
D27 Tobacco and Smokers' Supplies
D28 Cosmetic Products and Toilet Articles
D29 Equipment for Safety, Protection and Rescue
D30 Animal Husbandry
D32 Washing, Cleaning or Drying Machines
D34 Material or Article Handling Equipment
D99 Miscellaneous
Each Design class is organized into subclasses to permit efficient searching for specific types of industrial designs.
A subclass is a collection of design patents found in a Design Class, that pertain to a particular function, a specific functional feature, or a distinctive ornamental appearance or form.
For example, the subject matter in class D6, Furnishings, is classified by function into broad subclasses of similar types of furnishings-seating, work surfaces, storage, furniture parts and elements, etc. Because there are so many patented designs for the same general types of furnishings, this subject matter is further classified into subordinate or "indented" subclasses to promote efficient access to specific types of industrial designs.
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