Design Patents

DESIGN PATENT APPLICATIONS

Term

Design patents have a term of 15 years from the date of issuance.

Test for Design Patent Infringement

In the 2008 Federal Circuit opinion of Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc., the court established a new standard for infringement.  The Federal Circuit held that the infringing product must merely appear “substantially the same” as the design patent from the point of view of an “ordinary observer.”