When can multiple embodiments be included in a single design patent application?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

Multiple embodiments can be included in a single design patent application only if they are patentably indistinct. The MPEP states:

“More than one embodiment of a design may be protected by a single claim. However, such embodiments may be presented only if they involve a single inventive concept according to the nonstatutory double patenting practice for designs.”

This means that the embodiments must have overall appearances that are basically the same, and any differences must be minor and not patentably distinct. If the embodiments are patentably distinct, they require separate applications.