Designing a New Standard for the Obviousness of Design Patents

In a recent en banc decision concerning the standard for assessing obviousness challenges to design patents, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit discarded its long-standing standard, known as the Rosen-Durling test and regarded by many as overly-rigid, and held that the standard for design patents should be the same as for utility patents.

The decision in LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC will have significant implications for design patent applicants and owners going forward.

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