Design Patents Post-LKQ v. GM: Navigating New Obviousness Test for Design Patents

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Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Patent
- event Date
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
-
Live Online
On Demand
This CLE webinar will guide patent counsel on the Federal Circuit's decision in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations L.L.C. (2024) and its implications for design patents. The panel will discuss the test for obviousness, the hurdles it presents for design patents, and what practitioners are doing to overcome those hurdles. The panel will offer guidance addressing obviousness issues in design patents.
Faculty

Mr. Carani is a Shareholder at McAndrews and has been at the firm since 1995. He practices in all areas of intellectual property law with a particular emphasis on design law, which regards the protection and enforcement of rights in the appearance of consumer products. Mr. Carani has extensive experience litigating design patent cases, including representations before U.S. district courts, the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the International Trade Commission. In each year since 2019, he has been named to the IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists list, with IAM magazine noting that he is “one of the world’s leading design patent strategists,” one of the U.S.’s “pre-eminent design law experts,” and “widely regarded as one of the country’s premier design patent lawyers.” In 2023, in Columbia Sportswear v. Seirus, Mr. Carani successfully argued a case of first impression before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, creating new law on the issue of the proper scope of comparison prior art used in the design patent infringement analysis. He has extensive experience in creating valuable design right portfolios. He represents some of the world’s most design-centric companies, including the top filer of U.S. design patents. Mr. Carani has procured thousands of strategic design rights, both in the U.S. and in over 70 countries around the world. He counsels a wide range of clients (big and small) on design protection and enforcement issues and is often called upon to render infringement, validity, and design-around opinions.

Ms. Durkin heads the firm’s Mechanical and Design Patent Group. With nearly 30 years of experience obtaining and enforcing IP rights, she has a deep understanding of utility and design patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Ms. Durkin has been an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University Law School and has spoken internationally on topics such as the interplay between design patents and trade dress, and protection of user interface and the user experience. She is currently a Vice Chair of the Industrial Designs Committee of IP Section of the ABA.

Both nationally and internationally, Mr. Katz is considered one of the premier practitioners in the field of industrial designs, leading the way in the procurement and enforcement of design patents. On behalf of the firm’s clients, he has helped procure more than 10,000 design patents in the U.S. and more than 30,000 design patents/registrations outside the U.S. and has helped to successfully enforce over 100 design patents. Leaders from foreign design patent offices have consulted with him regarding industrial design policies, and he has served as an expert in design patent litigations. Mr. Katz holds leadership positions in several professional organizations, including ABA, AIPLA, FICPI and INTA. He is the past Chair of INTA’s Designs Committee and Vice President of FICPI’s U.S. Section. For the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, he currently serves as Liaison to FICPI. He also serves as a member of the Industrial Designs working group of the AIPLA Special Committee on Legislation. Mr. Katz is a former Chair of the Industrial Design Section for both FICPI and AIPLA, and also a member of IDSA and IPO.
Description
After applying the Rosen-Durling test for obviousness for over 25 years, the Federal Circuit turned the design patent world on its head. In its 2024 en banc decision, the Federal Circuit rejected the Rosen-Durling test, finding the test was "improperly rigid." The court determined that the test for obviousness that is used for utility patents should also be used for design patents.
The test for obviousness for utility patents was established in Graham v. John Deere (U.S. 1966) and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (U.S. 2007). The USPTO issued a memorandum on May 22, 2024, to provide guidance and instructions on evaluating obviousness in design patent applications and design patents.
The decision in LKQ could make it tougher to get design patents. And could provide an easier path to invalidate design patents. Design patent counsel need to understand the new test for obviousness to carefully draft patent applications to avoid obviousness rejections and to be prepared to address them when they do arise.
Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines the Federal Circuit's decision in LKQ and its implications for design patents. The panel will discuss the new test for obviousness and what hurdles it will present for design patents. The panel will offer guidance addressing obviousness issues in design patents.
Outline
I. LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations L.L.C. (Fed. Cir. May 21, 2024)
II. New test for obviousness
III. Challenges for design patents under the new test
IV. Best practices
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- How has the Federal Circuit's decision and USPTO guidance changed obviousness for design patents?
- What lessons can design patent counsel learn from the application of the obviousness test in utility patents?
- What are the steps that design patent applicants can take to stand up to obviousness rejections?
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