Decision Date: September 5, 2014 -

Court: Patent Trial and Appeal Board -

Patents: D525,731 and D526,429 -

Holding: Petitions to Institute Inter Partes Review DENIED

Opinion:

Dorman Products, Inc., a provider of replacement automotive parts, filed a petition requesting inter partes review of U.S. Design Patent No. D525,731 (“the ‘731 Patent”), entitled “Truck Headlamp,” and another petition requesting inter partes review of U.S. Design Patent No. D526,429 (“the ‘429 Patent”), entitled “Surface Configuration of Truck Headlamp.” PACCAR, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of trucks, owns both the ‘731 Patent and the ‘429 Patent. Dorman’s petition challenged the sole claim of each patent as obvious in light of various combinations of design patents and car brochures. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) evaluated whether Dorman had a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on the challenged claim, which is the required standard for instituting inter partes review...