It is a common misconception, particularly among multinational businesses, that the European design protection system is nearly identical to the design patent system in the United States. In fact, this is not the case: The EU...more
The U.S. is the world’s second-largest market for vehicle sales and production. To stay competitive in this multibillion-dollar industry, automotive manufacturers must strategically obtain valid and enforceable design patents...more
Addressing the issue of the functional requirements of design patents, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit refused to invalidate design patents on truck parts on the basis of aesthetic functionality. Automotive...more
On July 23, 2019, the Federal Circuit departed from its utility patent-focused docket to deliver a precedential opinion relating to design patents in Auto. Body Parts Ass’n v. Ford Global Techns., LLC. At issue were the...more
• In a relatively rare opinion regarding design patents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit weighed in recently on the requirements for design patents in its Automotive Body Parts Association v. Ford Global...more
PATENT CASE OF THE WEEK - Automotive Body Parts Ass’n. v. Ford Global Techs., LLC, Appeal No. 2018-1613 (Fed. Cir. July 23, 2019) - Our case of the week is a design patent case. It concerns two primary issues—what...more
On July 23, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released its decision affirming summary judgment that the asserted design patents were not invalid for non-ornamentality under 35 U.S.C. § 171, and rejecting...more
The Federal Circuit has ruled that neither the exhaustion nor permissible repair doctrines allow manufacture of new replacement components covered by design patents. The Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) sued Ford...more
The Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion on July 23, 2019, affirming the validity of two design patents related to the Ford F-150 hood and headlamp and sweepingly rejecting arguments that the patents on automotive...more
Steeda Autosports, Inc. ("Steeda"), a Valdosta, Georgia-based company specializing in the design and manufacture of after-market parts for Ford vehicles, particularly Ford Mustangs, filed suit on August 22, 2014, in the...more