Pursuant to federal law, the inventor of “any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture” is entitled to a design patent covering the invention.  
Like utility patents, the requirements of novelty and non-obviousness apply. Unlike utility patents, design patents protect an article's ornamental design and not its function.

A single claim. Patent claims define the scope of an invention. Utility patents have multiple claims. Design patents, by contrast, have only one claim. Note: different embodiments of a single design concept may be filed in one application. Thus, embodiments that simply scale a design up or down can be filed in a single design patent application.
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Drawings or photographs. The drawings are the critical component of a design patent since they comprise the complete visual description of the design.  Drawings must be in black ink on white paper absent special circumstances (see 37 CFR §1.84) .

A design patent is infringed if an ordinary observer would think that the accused design is substantially the same as the patented design when the two designs are compared in the context of the prior art. Egyptian Goddess, 543 F. 3d 665 (Fed. Cir. 2008). In 2008, a jury found that Samsung had infringed Apple’s design patent covering the iPhone and awarded Apple a staggering $296 million in damages. Thus, a design patent is a powerful tool and can indeed be a cornerstone of a well-conceived intellectual property portfolio.

According to the USPTO’s most up-to-date fee schedule, the total design patent filing fee is $760 for large entities, $380 for small entities and $190 for micro-entities.
Micro-entity filers get a 75% reduction in fees!  To qualify for the micro-entity certification, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

• Qualify as a USPTO-defined small entity.
• Not be named on more than four previously filed applications.*
• Not have a gross income more than three times the median household income in the previous year from when the fee(s) is paid. For 2011, the most recent year that data is available, the median income was $50,054.
• Not be under an obligation to assign, grant, or convey a license or other ownership to another entity that does not meet the same income requirements as the inventor.  

The term for a design patent is 15 years from the date that the design patent is granted. 35 U.S.C. §1 73. The term was changed from 14 years to 15 years in 2015. Note: after the patent term expires, it may be possible to obtain a trademark covering the trade dress of the article of manufacture. For example, Coca cola was granted Design Patent No. 48,160 covering the coke bottle shape in 1915. Coca cola later registered a trademark over the trade dress for the “coke bottle” in 1977. Although the legal requirements for registering a trademark covering a product’s trade dress are different, it is a mechanism for extending the life and scope of protection well beyond 15 years..

You should strongly consider applying for whatever non-provisional patent protection you can get, whether design, utility, or both! Design patents are perfect for inventions where the innovation is more in the design and less in the way the invention works. Not every patent application will be granted. Accordingly, before filing any application, we will help you determine: i) is your invention is eligible for a patent at all; and ii) does your invention solve a new problem or solve a known problem in a new way.

A design patent protects the ornamental features of an invention rather than inventive aspects of its function.

No. Non-provisional applications are published after18 months EXCEPT for design patents.

No - protect your brand by registering your logo on the Principal trademark Register instead.