How Long Does My Patent Protection Last? Does a Patent Ever Expire?

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How long does a patent last?

So, there's two types of patents. There's design patents, which protect the look of an idea. And then there's utility patents that protect the unique function, and what an idea does. So design patents are common for like, in the fashion industry, you might have an earring. It doesn't work differently than any other earring, but, but it looks unusual, so you can get a design patent. The question is, how long do they last? Design patents last for 14 years. If it's the function you want to protect, that's protected for 20 years.