LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC

  1. October 13, 2023

    GM Warns Full Fed. Circ. Against Design Patent 'Free-For-All'

    Auto parts company LKQ Corp. is trying to turn a "common sense" approach to reviewing the invalidity of design patents into a "free-for-all" that cannot be endorsed by a federal appeals court, a General Motors unit has argued to the full Federal Circuit.

  2. August 29, 2023

    USPTO, Car Cos., Profs Tell Fed. Circ. About Design Patents

    Lawyers for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Taiwanese auto parts makers and major insurance trade groups are among those that have weighed in at the Federal Circuit on a legal campaign coming from a rival of General Motors that aims to change how courts make decisions about design patents.

  3. August 15, 2023

    GM Foe Says It's Time For Some New Design Patent Rules

    An auto parts maker fighting with General Motors has laid out its case before the full Federal Circuit to discard rules the court adopted that set a high bar for invalidating design patents, in what is poised to become the appeals court's first en banc review of a patent case since 2018.

  4. July 19, 2023

    5 Patent Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2023

    The Federal Circuit will be reviewing its first en banc patent case since 2018, while the court's members are being sued by its longest-serving judge, who claims that an attempt to oust her is unconstitutional. Here's what you need to know about these and other high-profile patent cases.

  5. July 05, 2023

    Fed. Circ. Could Lower Bar For Invalidating Design Patents

    The full Federal Circuit's decision to review the test for proving that patented designs are invalid as obvious has the potential to usher in a significant shift in the law that could make design patents easier to challenge, attorneys say.

  6. June 30, 2023

    Full Fed. Circ. To Review Design Patent Tests In GM Case

    The full Federal Circuit agreed Friday to review whether tests for proving that a design patent is obvious have been overruled by U.S. Supreme Court precedent, taking up a dispute involving a General Motors unit in the court's first en banc review of a patent case since 2018.

  7. May 11, 2023

    GM Urges Full Fed. Circ. Not To Revisit Design Patent Ruling

    General Motors has urged the Federal Circuit not to rethink a panel's upholding of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that LKQ Corp. didn't show two GM auto part design patents are invalid, saying the court shouldn't rewrite the framework for determining obviousness.

  8. April 07, 2023

    Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Treat Design Patents Like Patents

    Various players in the world of replacement auto parts have urged the full Federal Circuit to reconsider the test used for determining design patents are invalid as obvious, arguing the court is treating design patents more like trademarks than utility patents, thus making invalidations nearly impossible.

  9. January 26, 2023

    3 Takeaways As Fed. Circ. Retains Design Patent Tests

    The Federal Circuit has refused to discard rules that set a high bar for invalidating design patents, but attorneys say the issue is likely to spur further litigation that could upend the law in addition to creating a new obstacle for design patents challengers.

  10. January 20, 2023

    Fed. Circ. Backs GM Win And Won't Drop Design Patent Tests

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that LKQ Corp. didn't show that two General Motors auto part design patents are invalid, and it rejected LKQ's claim that the U.S. Supreme Court has implicitly overruled key design patent validity tests.