1. Design Patent Applications are directed to the "ornamental appearance" of an object and are useful in preventing competitors from imitating the unique visual appearance of an article of manufacture. Design patents have a term of fourteen years from the issue date and, in comparison with utility patents, are relatively inexpensive.
   
   
   
2. Utility Patent Applications are directed to articles of manufacture, machines, chemical compositions and processes. The term of a utility patent is twenty years from the filing date.
   
   
   
3. Provisional Patent Applications may be filed in an informal format, and do not require patent claims. A regular utility application must be filed within one year of the provisional application filing date in order to claim the benefit of that earlier filing date.

For more information on U.S. Patents, click here.
For information on Foreign Patents, click here.