How is prima facie obviousness established for design patents?
Establishing prima facie obviousness for design patents involves several key considerations. The MPEP states:
“To establish prima facie obviousness, all the claim limitations must be taught or suggested by the prior art.”
Additionally, the MPEP provides important guidance on the proper standard for obviousness:
“In determining prima facie obviousness, the proper standard is whether the design would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill with the claimed type of article. See In re Nalbandian, 661 F.2d 1214, 211 USPQ 782 (CCPA 1981).”
The MPEP further emphasizes the importance of comparing the claimed design to existing designs:
“As a whole, a design must be compared with something in existence, and not something brought into existence by selecting and combining features from prior art references. See In re Jennings, 182 F.2d 207, 86 USPQ 68 (CCPA 1950).”
This guidance underscores that examiners must consider the design as a whole and compare it to existing designs, rather than piecing together various elements from different references.
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