A Design Patent is counterpart to a utility patent. It protects the ornamental appearance instead of the function of a design. The claim of a design patent uses standardized wording: "The ornamental design of <whatever the design is> as shown."

Both utility and design patents can be issued for the same product.  A utility patent may for example protect a novel kinematics of how a lawn chair folds together, while a design patent protects the way the same lawn chair looks. Both are valuable rights. Without the utility patent a competitor could make and sell a lawn chair that uses the same folding mechanism, as long as the lawn chair looks different. Similarly, without the design patent a competitor could copy the design and make a lawn chair that looks identical to the original, as long as it uses a different folding mechanism.

A common misconception about patents is that they grant a right to produce the underlying product. They don't. Quite the opposite: A patent gives the owner the right to exclude others from producing or selling the claimed invention while the patent is enforceable. Design patents are issued for a period of 14 years from the date of patent grant.

The range of products that can be protected by design patents is virtually unlimited. Design patents are issued for anything from the appearance of tire tracks to computer icons.