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by Dennis Crouch
We saw a huge change in our U.S. Design Patent system two years ago. In May 2024, the Federal Circuit decided LKQ v. GM, and ushering in a flexible obviousness test. The prior test was both rigid and restrictive and very few design patent applications were ever rejected as obvious. The new test opens the door to more rigorous obviousness examination. But, as the chart shows below, that is not happening. The fact remains that only about 1% of applications receive an obviousness rejection. 
For this analysis, I use Hague System cases because those file wrappers are public unlike ordinary design patent application files. The Hague agreement allows applicants to file a single international design application that can designate multiple countries, including the United States. This is PCT for design patents. In the U.S., Hague System applications are examined under the same substantive standards as domestic design patent applications.
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