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Excerpt from www.globallegalpost.com
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) overruled a long standing test on Tuesday (21 May) when assessing non obviousness in design patent cases, supporting the more flexible approach used for utility patents.
The test – known as the Rosen-Durling test – had been used consistently for 30 years.
The LKQ v General Motors dispute saw auto part makers LKQ Corporation and Keystone Automotive Industries, collectively known as “LKQ Corp”, attempt to invalidate a design patent owned by General Motors directed at the front fender of a car.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office initially shot down LKQ’s patent validity challenge, but LKQ appealed and now CAFC has ruled that the test used by the PTAB when reaching its decision was not flexible enough in its present form.
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