Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of LKQ in Design Patent Case Against GM

In a precedential decision, the full court overturned a common test for determining obviousness of a design patent.

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled in favor of an appeal by LKQ Corporation in a case over a design patent held by General Motors (GM) on a 2018-1022 Chevrolet Equinox fender. In the precedent setting opinion in LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC, the full appeals court overturned a long-standing Rosen-During test used to assess the nonobviousness of a design patent.

The opinion has the potential to set a significant precedent for