Day: September 20, 2026

The fourth Graham factor applies to design patents. LKQ v. GM, 102 F.4th 1280, 1296, 1299-1300 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (en banc). The court named commercial success, industry praise, and copying, and said it was not deciding whether long-felt need and failure of others apply to designs.

Every reference in a design patent obviousness rejection must now be analogous art to the claimed design. LKQ v. GM, 102 F.4th 1280, 1296-99 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (en banc).

An obviousness rejection of a design claim now requires a record-supported reason to combine the references. See LKQ v. GM, 102 F.4th 1280, 1299 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (en banc).