A New Era Dawns for Design Patent Validity: How the Federal Circuit Has Rewritten Design Patent Obviousness Law

Insights: Events A New Era Dawns for Design Patent Validity: How the Federal Circuit Has Rewritten Design Patent Obviousness Law

Kilpatrick Townsend Intellectual Property Seminar (KTIPS)

U.S. design patents have historically been very difficult to invalidate. For decades, the Rosen-Durling test has been used to assess obviousness of U.S. design patents. The test’s rigid standard resulted in few design patents being invalidated as obvious. The Federal Circuit's May 2024 en banc decision in LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC overruled the Rosen-Durling test, paving the way for a more flexible approach to demonstrating design patent obviousness. This shift will impact how patent owners and patent challengers approach U.S. design patents in the future.