Back to the Future: Understanding and Navigating Design Patent Nonobviousness After the LKQ Decision

Authors

• Alexandra KerrFollow

Abstract

The Federal Circuit did not build a time machine out of a DeLorean. However, in a decision that echoes the past and will transform the future, the court, sitting en banc, dismantled four decades of design patent precedent. In LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations, LLC, the Federal Circuit overruled the previous “Rosen-Durling” test for design patent obviousness. The new standard revives the roots of design patent precedent and further harmonizes design patent standards with utility patent law. This article will examine how a return to the flexible obviousness standard will alter the niche, yet significant, role of design patents in the intellectual property landscape, and highlight pragmatic strategies for practitioners adapting to the change.

Recommended Citation

Alexandra Kerr, Back to the Future: Understanding and Navigating Design Patent Nonobviousness After the LKQ Decision, 70 St. Louis U. L.J. (2025).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol70/iss1/8