Design Patent PTO Litigation Statistics (Through July 1, 2017)

By: Mark W. Rygiel and Patrick T. Murray

The statistics below reveal the current trends on proceeding breakdowns, institution rates, and outcomes of design patent PTO litigation. Since February 2017, with 13 additional design patent institution decisions the institution rate has remained relatively steady at 40% (from 37%), still significantly lower than the overall institution rate.

I. Proceeding Breakdown

II. Institution Rates/Case Statuses

The institution rate for design patents, for both claims and proceedings, is 40% (16/40).

For cases overall, the proceeding institution rate is 70%, and the claim institution rate is 62%.

Here is a breakdown of the current case statuses for all of the design cases:

III. Final Written Decision (FWD) Outcomes
A. Claim Cancellation Rate
The instituted claim has been cancelled in 6 of 8 design FWDs (75%). The overall claim cancellation rate is 79%.

B. FWD Ground Type

C. FWD Prior Art Type

FWD Prior Art Type

IV. Technology Areas