As of the beginning of 2024, the Patent Office will be taking applications for people interested in the special design patent bar they’re creating. In order to be eligible to take the Registration Exam and be admitted to this special bar, an applicant must have a degree in industrial design, product design, architecture, applied arts, graphic design, fine/studio arts, art teacher education, or the equivalent of one of the foregoing.
Those applicants will be taking the same Registration Exam as the others seeking admission to the patent bar (so the PLI course is fully applicable to these applicants). Upon admission, you will be able to prepare and prosecute design patents, but not “regular” (utility) or plant patents, unless you also have a degree in engineering or the hard sciences, or otherwise qualify for the “regular” patent bar under the USPTO rules.