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USPTO Publishes Final Rule Establishing Separate Design Patent Bar

IP Watchdog

Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced that a final rule will be published tomorrow, November 16, in the Federal Register implementing a design patent practitioner bar. A request for comments (RFC) was also published in October 22.

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Impact of Full Federal Circuit’s Design Patent Decision is Far from Obvious

IP Watchdog

Applications for design patents have surged in recent years, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reporting a 20% increase in applications over the last five years.

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Design Patent Obviousness: Federal Circuit Rehearing and Examiner AI-Assisted Searching

JD Supra Law

The law for design patent obviousness may change in the upcoming months when a decision is issued from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals from the February 2024 en banc rehearing of LKQ Corp. With the use of AI-assisted searching, design patent examiners appear to be issuing more obviousness rejections.

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USPTO Issues Guidance On New Fed. Circ. Design Patent Test

IP Law 360

Patent and Trademark Office has issued guidance laying out how to apply the Federal Circuit's Tuesday en banc decision, making the standard for obviousness in design patents more flexible.

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USPTO Issues Supplemental Guidance on Design Patent Protection for Computer-Generated Electronic Images

JD Supra Law

Last month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published Supplemental Guidance for examination of design patent applications related to computer-generated electronic images.

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PTO Creates Separate Design Patent Bar

JD Supra Law

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) published its final rule, creating a separate design patent bar where admitted design patent practitioners will practice in design patent proceedings only. (88 78644 (Nov. 16, 2023).). By: McDermott Will & Emery

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What are the requirements for getting a design patent?

Patent Trademark Blog

Are there any requirements for getting a design patent? Design patents can be quite powerful. Even though design patents are easier to get than utility patents, it is still possible for a design application to be rejected. 35 USC 171 sets forth the requirements for getting a design patent.