IP Law 360

JUNE 3, 2024

The Federal Circuit's decision discarding long-standing tests for proving that a design patent is invalid as obvious means the world has changed for patent examiners and applicants, attorneys said, and the new standard could lead to more design patent applications being turned down.

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Patently-O

MAY 24, 2024

GM decision, the USPTO issued a memorandum to its examiners providing updated guidance and examination instructions in light of the court’s overturning of the long-standing Rosen-Durling test for determining obviousness of design patents.

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Design Patent Designs Design Art 128

JD Supra Law

JULY 26, 2024

In a recent en banc decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled its prior test for nonobviousness of design patent inventions, holding that design patents are subject to the same test as utility patents. LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations (Federal Circuit, May 21, 224).

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Patently-O

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

In our new paper, The Truth About Design Patents , we debunk three widely held—but incorrect—views about U.S. design patents. Taken together, these myths paint a grim picture of design patents: Half of all design patent applications are rejected. Acquiring Design Patents.

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JD Supra Law

JUNE 19, 2024

Since the inception of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) in 2012, design patents obtained a higher rate of favorable results in Inter Partes Reviews (“IPRs”) and Post Grant Reviews (“PGRs”) than utility patents. By: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

AUGUST 1, 2024

In today’s competitive market, the visual appeal and unique ornamental design of a product can be as crucial to its success as its name or functionality. One way to protect the look and feel of your company’s products is with a design patent. By: McAfee & Taft

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JD Supra Law

JULY 19, 2024

A recent Federal Circuit decision overturning the long-standing obviousness test for design patents could have wide-ranging implications for design patent owners. The en banc decision in LKQ Corp.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

JULY 25, 2024

Of those ten investigations, two involved design patents. Ten Section 337 Investigations were terminated in the first half of 2024.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 73

JD Supra Law

MAY 24, 2024

On May 21, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an en banc opinion overruling the long-standing Rosen-Durling test for obviousness of design patents in favor of the analytical framework used for utility patents outlined in Graham v. John Deere Co. and KSR Int’l Co. Teleflex Inc. LKQ Corporation et al.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 108

IP Law 360

MAY 21, 2024

The full Federal Circuit on Tuesday overruled long-standing tests for proving that design patents are invalid as obvious, finding that the rules are "improperly rigid" and holding that the obviousness test for utility patents should be used instead.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 105

JD Supra Law

MAY 23, 2024

Unlike utility patents, which are frequently invalidated on obviousness grounds, design patents historically faced a rigid test making obvious findings rare.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

JULY 9, 2024

Need another reason to secure and enforce design patents? Design patents offer a unique additional remedy in district court litigation: profit disgorgement. See 35 U.S.C. By: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

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Design Patent Designs Design Litigation 63

JD Supra Law

AUGUST 12, 2024

Until now, case law has defined an “article of manufacture” solely for purposes of damages in design patent infringement actions. The federal court’s decision to reject this position has now harmonized the definition of an article of manufacture across multiple statutes.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

JUNE 6, 2024

GM Global, the Federal Circuit overruled the Rosen-Durling test for design patent obviousness, jettisoning decades-old precedent and loosely outlining a design patent obviousness test that aligns with the standard for utility patents.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 66

Patently-O

JUNE 22, 2022

Evo’s design patent claims an “ ornamental design for a foldable bag ” as shown in the figures above. district court held the patent invalid as both functional and obvious; and also not infringed. Functionality : Design patents focus on ornamentality rather than utility. by Dennis Crouch.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 141

Patently-O

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

WIPO administers the WIPO-administered Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs. In 2015, the US linked its design patent system with Hague — this gives U.S. designers easier access to global design rights; and non-U.S. design patent system. by Dennis Crouch.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 144

Patent Trademark Blog

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Are there any requirements for getting a design patent? Design patents can be quite powerful. Even though design patents are easier to get than utility patents, it is still possible for a design application to be rejected. 35 USC 171 sets forth the requirements for getting a design patent.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

JD Supra Law

MARCH 15, 2024

A seemingly innocuous Instagram post by Rihanna is the reason that a Puma design patent* was held invalid. Last week, the General Court of the European Union affirmed the decision of a lower tribunal, invalidating Puma’s application on the grounds that the design had been publicly disclosed prior to the application’s filing date.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 68

IP Law 360

JULY 15, 2024

are looking to come to a deal to settle a legal dispute over GM's design patent covering fenders at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. and General Motors Co.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 59

The IP Law Blog

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Design patents and utility patents are two different things. Design patents protect ornamental designs, such as the shape of a perfume bottle or the design on flatware. To be patentable, however, both designs and functional inventions must satisfy two requirements. Telflex, Inc.,

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

IP Law 360

MAY 20, 2024

Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a Federal Circuit ruling that revived Columbia Sportswear's design patent suit against Seirus Innovative Accessories Inc., which Seirus said created an "illogical, unworkable test" for design patent cases.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 59

JD Supra Law

JUNE 7, 2024

In a landmark decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has overruled the longstanding test for assessing whether a design patent is considered obvious in view of prior art.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 61

JD Supra Law

MAY 23, 2024

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overruled a decades-old test for obviousness of design patents. In a recent en banc panel decision, the U.S.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

DECEMBER 7, 2023

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) published its final rule, creating a separate design patent bar where admitted design patent practitioners will practice in design patent proceedings only. (88 78644 (Nov. 16, 2023).). By: McDermott Will & Emery

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IP Watchdog

MAY 23, 2024

Applications for design patents have surged in recent years, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reporting a 20% increase in applications over the last five years.

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Design Patent Designs Design Intellectual Property 58

JD Supra Law

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Last month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published Supplemental Guidance for examination of design patent applications related to computer-generated electronic images.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 112

JD Supra Law

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

In 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not issue any final written decisions involving design patents. However, it did issue three decisions granting review of challenged design patents and three decisions denying review of challenged design patents, maintaining 2021’s design patent institution rate of 50%.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

JD Supra Law

MAY 23, 2024

In a recent en banc decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the Rosen-Durling test for assessing the non-obviousness of design patents and adopted a more flexible test which is consistent with the Supreme Court's general guidance in KSR International Co. Teleflex Inc. By: Blank Rome LLP

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 61

JD Supra Law

JULY 8, 2024

On May 21, 2024, the Federal Circuit upended decades of precedent regarding design patents in its decision LKQ Corporation v. Sitting en banc, a panel of Federal Circuit judges overturned the Rosen-Durling standard for obviousness for design patents in favor of a more “flexible” approach utilized in utility patent decisions.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

JD Supra Law

MAY 18, 2023

The US Patent and Trademark Office announced a notice of proposed rulemaking on May 16 that would create a separate design patent bar. The proposed changes would effectively expand the admission criteria for those who practice in design patent cases before the USPTO. By: Morgan Lewis

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

JD Supra Law

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

The law surrounding validity, infringement, claim construction, and damages in the design patent context is notably less developed than in the utility patent context. Nevertheless, courts have fashioned a robust body of case law to guide their decisions in these disputes.

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Design Patent Designs Design Litigation 71

IP Law 360

MAY 29, 2024

The Federal Circuit last week discarded established tests for proving that design patents are invalid as obvious, leaving much unknown for design patent applicants, patentees and challengers, such as what constitutes analogous art and how secondary references will be considered and applied, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 52

JD Supra Law

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Utility patents are for functional inventions. Design patents protect the look of something functional, regardless of whether the functional aspects are new. Because of this, a popular use of design patents is to protect the outside of common consumer products. What’s more common than the written word?

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

JD Supra Law

MAY 24, 2024

The Federal Circuit has overruled the long-standing Rosen-Durling test used to evaluate obviousness of design patents. The court, which reheard the appeal en banc from a PTAB final written decision, cited a plain reading of the statutory scheme for design patents, as well as the Supreme Court’s guidance in KSR Int’l Co.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 63

Patent Trademark Blog

MARCH 16, 2022

What makes a design patent better? Design patents are quite simple. You do a bit of research into the differences between a design and utility patent , and conclude that design is the way to go. A broader patent gives the owner greater rights to stop the competition from copying the patented design.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent 98

JD Supra Law

MAY 22, 2024

GM Global Technology Operations LLC, overturning the long-standing obviousness test for design patents. On May 21, 2024, the Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision (full court, instead of the typical three-judge panel) in LKQ Corp. By: Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.

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Design Patent Designs Design Patent Law 107

Patent Trademark Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Design Patent Application: Where to Start Are you thinking about filing a design patent, but not sure where to begin? We’ll walk through the information and materials required to start the design patent application process. Need to file a design patent? You found the right post.

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