Visual Invention

Recently, there has been a renewed interest in design patents and, in particular, in the issue of nonobviousness. Courts and commentators have long struggled with how the nonobviousness requirement should be applied to designs. This Article argues that the Federal Circuit’s current test for design patent nonobviousness is flawed and proposes several changes to that test. The approach proposed here will provide much-needed clarity in an unusually murky area of law and will also better promote the relevant policy goals