On March 13, 2026, the USPTO published a Federal Register Notice that offered updated supplemental guidance to assist USPTO personnel in determining whether design patent applications for a computer, computer display, or computer system with computer-generated interfaces—including graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and icons—comply with the article of manufacture requirement of 35 U.S.C. 171.
The supplemental guidance is based on the USPTO’s expanded understanding of design patent protection in light of new design formats resulting from the continued modernization of technology. The guidance:
- Removes the requirement that the drawing depict the article of manufacture in either solid or broken lines for design patent applications drawn to computer-generated interfaces or icons when both the title and claim properly identify an article of manufacture;
- Clarifies that a design of a computer-generated interface or icon for a computer, computer display, or computer system is more than a mere transient or disembodied picture or three-dimensional image and is patent-eligible subject matter when disclosed and claimed in accordance with the pertinent rules and statutory requirements;
- Clarifies that claim and title language that indicates that an icon or interface is “for” a computer, computer system, or computer display panel adequately describes a design for an article of manufacture under 35 U.S.C. 171; and
- Highlights additional types of patent-eligible designs based on the USPTO’s expanded understanding of design patent protection.
These highlighted types of eligible designs include computer-generated interfaces or icons (such as projections and holograms) for computers, computer displays, and computer systems where the appearance of the interfaces and icons is separate from the claimed computer, computer display, or computer system that generates it.
USPTO designer examiner training material: Supplemental Guidance for Examination of Design Patent Applications Related to Computer-Generated Interfaces and Icons - Part 1 - Overview of the Notice