Sterne Kessler Releases 2021 Design Patents Year in Review: Analysis and Trends Report

Washington, D.C. (March 2, 2022) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox has released a new publication, 2021 Design Patents Year in Review: Analysis and Trends. The report was edited by Director Tracy-Gene G. Durkin and authored by Directors Daniel A. Gajewski, Deirdre M. Wells, and Ivy Clarice Estoesta.

In its inaugural edition, this report highlights some of the important developments that occurred in 2021 involving design patents at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the US International Trade Commission, US District Courts, and the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The report also provides an update on recent regulatory changes taking place globally with respect to design protection and enforcement.

Topics explored in this publication include: how design patents are faring better than utility patents in challenges at the PTAB; how they are outperforming on obtaining general exclusion orders (GEO) at the ITC; and the steady pace of design patent infringement filings with US district courts over the past decade. The report also examines the importance of the choice of the title of a design patent and how objective indicia of patentability are applied to design patents in two precedential decisions from the Federal Circuit, In re SurgiSil and Campbell Soup Company v. Gamon Plus, Inc.

The full 2021 Design Patents Year in Review: Analysis and Trends report and individual articles are available on Sterne Kessler’s website in HTML and PDF formats here. An on-demand webinar featuring the editor and authors of the report is posted here. Additionally, the firm’s sixth annual report, Federal Circuit Appeals from the PTAB: Summaries of Key 2021 Decisions, is available here. The firm will release a third “year in review” report later this month with a focus on notable 2021 PTAB decisions and trends that have emerged at the PTAB.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, transfer, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, students, and technical specialists include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners hold over 50 masters and over 60 doctorate degrees in science or engineering and represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.