The Federal Circuit's May 2024 en banc decision in LKQ v. GM has significantly changed the design patent arena by making it easier to find design patents obvious, allowing for a more flexible obviousness inquiry compared to the old Rosen-Durling test.
The examination guidance released by Dir. Vidal after the LKQ decision indicated that additional training would be provided in the short term, but as of now, there haven't been requests for examiners to reevaluate pending applications, resulting in a steady issuance rate of about 1,000 design patents per week.
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