--- description: The 14-year patent will protect the building's "ornamental design" title: Apple Wins Patent for Its Glass Cube Store Design image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbb71dbd29e21959/6986a14fd0b6f2cfbb305de2/apple-store-patent-glass-cube.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple Wins Patent for Its Glass Cube Store Design  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 4:30 PM CUT  A general view of the glass cube facade of the Fifth Avenue Apple store in front of the Plaza Hotel on February 9, 2012 in New York City. A general view of the glass cube facade of the Fifth Avenue Apple store in front of the Plaza Hotel on February 9, 2012 in New York City.Ben Hider—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 4:30 PM CUT The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Apple’s application this week to patent its iconic glass cube design at its flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan. Filed in 2012, [the 14-year patent](http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D712067.pdf "undefined") sanctions the “ornamental design” of the 32-foot cube, which underwent a $6.7 million remodeling in 2011 to achieve a cleaner look with 15 glass panels instead of 90, [according to _Apple Insider_](http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/08/28/apple-wins-patent-for-steve-jobs-designed-fifth-ave-glass-cube "undefined")_._ Apple had applied in 2010 to [trademark](http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/definitions.jsp "undefined") the [“distinctive design of the building”](http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/08/apple-tries-to-trademark-their-famous-glass-store-architecture.html "undefined") but that has not yet been approved. The glass staircases inside Apple Stores were also patented last year, [according to documents](http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,544,217.PN.&OS=PN/8,544,217&RS=PN/8,544,217 "undefined") published by the USPTO. Apple previously won a patent in 2012 for the glass cylinder design of its flagship store in Shanghai. The cube was designed by several people including former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, according to the patent application. Jobs had [reportedly](http://appleinsider.com/articles/05/12/05/jobs%5Fwants%5F32%5Ffoot%5Fglass%5Fcube%5Ffollowing%5Fapple%5Fstore%5Flease.html "undefined") paid for the construction of the glass cube himself and owned the structure. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3207197/apple-patent-fifth-avenue-apple-store-glass-cube/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3207197/apple-patent-fifth-avenue-apple-store-glass-cube/"},"headline":"Apple Wins Patent for Its Glass Cube Store Design","datePublished":"2014-08-28T16:30:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:54:52.539Z","description":"The 14-year patent will protect the building's \"ornamental design\"","url":"https://time.com/3207197/apple-patent-fifth-avenue-apple-store-glass-cube/","keywords":["Companies","Apple","Brands"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbb71dbd29e21959/6986a14fd0b6f2cfbb305de2/apple-store-patent-glass-cube.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbb71dbd29e21959/6986a14fd0b6f2cfbb305de2/apple-store-patent-glass-cube.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Wins Patent on Glass Cube Store Design","caption":"Apple Wins Patent on Glass Cube Store Design","creditText":"Ben Hider—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3207197/apple-patent-fifth-avenue-apple-store-glass-cube/","name":"Apple Wins Patent for Its Glass Cube Store Design"}}]}] ```