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Federal Circuit Overrules 'Rosen-Durling' Test for Design Patent Obviousness

By Mikaela Stone
June 01, 2024

The Federal Circuit has overruled the long-standing Rosen-Durling test used to evaluate obviousness of design patents. LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Op. LLC, No. 2021-2348 (Fed. Cir. May 21, 2024).

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. v. Teleflex Inc. that obviousness determinations must be flexible. In considering Rosen-Durling's dual requirements that: 1) the primary prior art reference be "basically the same" as the claimed design; and 2) secondary references must be "so related" to the primary reference that features from one would suggest application to the other, the court found these "rigid" standards to be at odds with Supreme Court precedent.

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